The President's Dismissal regarding Khashoggi Killing Signals a New Low.

“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a short time, nations were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US imposed penalties and visa bans in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump honor the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in clear opposition 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 like him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. He has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured established media out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on society is profound. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

On Thursday, CPJ 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 do not.