🔗 Share this article

“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the meeting. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services determined four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the press. Trump has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, 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 refusing 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 reporters are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people 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 press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The effect on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

This week, CPJ meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement at the event is the same as my one for the president: such events may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.