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“Stuff occurs.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most notorious journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence found in a 2021 report had ordered the abduction and murder of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was drugged and dismembered – was signed off at the top echelons. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, nations were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the kingdom has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the government had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was worse than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the killing – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a fresh and shameful point for a president who has made little secret of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. He has defamed journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media 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 killing – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for the press in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for journalist killings has created a culture of impunity in which those who murder reporters are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

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

Societal Impact

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 liberty to live freely and securely.

This week, CPJ gathers for its annual global journalism honors. The statement there is the identical as my message for the president: such events may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.