🔗 Share this article

“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump 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 disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the murder 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 recent assessment had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old journalist was drugged and cut apart – was signed off at the highest levels. An investigation led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States enacted penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was on display at the presidential residence was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject point for a leader 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 “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his connection 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 media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the White House press pool for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“a lot of people didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so continue to do so.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the identical as my message for the president: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.