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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for the US president to brush off what is probably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist 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.

International Response

For a short time, governments were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted penalties and visa bans in that year over the killing, 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 Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the regime had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies determined four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks 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 a news network, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued news outlets 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 declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at home and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an atmosphere in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals 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 documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for reporter murders has created a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

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

Societal Impact

The impact on society 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 freedom to exist without fear and securely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the same as my one for the president: these things may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.