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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed penalties and visa bans in 2021 over the murder, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington 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 worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared journalists (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for vital news services at home and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on file for the press in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a persistent failure to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to exist without fear and safely.

This week, CPJ meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message there is the identical as my message for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.