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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the murder of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was drugged and dismembered – was signed off at the highest levels. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

Presidential Comments

Opponents of the regime had strongly criticized 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 effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the deceased. Prince Mohammed, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “Many individuals disliked that gentleman 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 truth – or for the press. Trump has smeared reporters (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the inquiry about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his connection with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in vexatious law suits, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has created an environment in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but tolerated (“a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising 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 tracking this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences 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 more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The effect on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual global journalism honors. The statement at the event is the same as my message for Trump: such events may happen. But it is our duty to make sure they cease.