The President's Casual Remarks on Journalist's Murder Represents a New Low.

“Things happen.” 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 plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for the media – and for the facts.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old journalist was drugged and dismembered – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject point for a president who has made little secret of his contempt for the truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi 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 Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is no surprise 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 information: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for journalist killings has established a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

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