🔗 Share this article

“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – 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 leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince 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 59-year-old journalist was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US imposed penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his country’s own intelligence services concluded previously. 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 new and abject point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. Trump has defamed journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has gutted funding for essential public media at home and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal 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 bring to justice those accountable for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

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

Effect on Society

The effect on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to live freely and safely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. My message there is the identical as my one for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.