Trump's Casual Remarks on Khashoggi Killing Represents a New Low.

“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most notorious journalist killing of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for the media – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old journalist was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted penalties and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit 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 on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a new and abject low for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. He has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender 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 forced 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 vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual global journalism honors. My message there is the identical as my one for the president: such events may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.