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“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was drugged and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was evident at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, he claimed when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s intelligence services determined four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the media. He has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the media event “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the official briefing group for declining to use language of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the deadliest year on record for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has established a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are literally able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, CPJ meets for its yearly global journalism honors. My message there is the same as my message for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.