The President's Dismissal regarding Journalist's Murder Represents a New Low.

“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for the media – and for the facts.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own intelligence services determined four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful point for a leader who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his preference, 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 atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for reporter murders 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.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual global journalism honors. My message there is the same as my message for the president: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.