Trump's Dismissal on Khashoggi Killing Represents a Disturbing Development.

“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That was enough for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi 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 abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in 2018. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was drugged and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a short time, nations were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed sanctions and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince 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.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was evident at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the facts – or for the media. Trump has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), berated 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 eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the official briefing group for declining to use terminology of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for essential public media at home and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the deadliest 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 those who murder reporters are literally able to escape punishment and so continue to do so.

In no place is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 200 journalists in the past two years.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is profound. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

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