🔗 Share this article

“Incidents take place.” 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 sank to a fresh depth in his disregard toward the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was signed off at the highest levels. An investigation led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a brief period, governments were in agreement in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States imposed penalties and visa bans in 2021 over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince 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

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his nation’s intelligence services determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject point for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. He has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist 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 disgraced financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use language 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 reporters are manifestly less safe in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the most lethal year on record for journalists 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 journalist killings has created a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the killing of more than 200 media workers in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on society is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my one for the president: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.