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“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the late journalist was drugged and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted sanctions and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it stopped short of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject 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 Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on file for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this information: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences 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 clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the killing of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the same as my one for the president: such events may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.