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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is probably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for the press, for the media – and for the truth.

Background Details

The US president’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the top echelons. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

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

White House Remarks

Critics 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 Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. He has defamed 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 “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the White House press pool for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has gutted funding for vital news services at home and crucial free press abroad.

Broader Implications

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

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on record for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to hold those accountable for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The effect on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its yearly global journalism honors. The statement there is the same as my one for Trump: such events may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.