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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That was enough for Donald Trump to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing sank to a fresh depth in his contempt for journalists, for the media – and for the facts.

Background Details

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had orchestrated the kidnap and killing of the journalist in 2018. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The US intelligence services were not the only ones to determine the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the 59-year-old Khashoggi was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, nations were unified in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter history – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, he claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a fresh and shameful point for a president who has made little secret of his disdain for the truth – or for the media. Trump has smeared journalists (he called ABC news, 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 relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against media organizations for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the White House press pool for declining to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at domestically and vital independent media internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“incidents occur”) but tolerated (“many individuals disliked that person”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the deadliest year on file 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 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 journalists in the past two years.

Societal Impact

The effect on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. 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, CPJ gathers for its yearly International Press Freedom awards. The statement at the event is the identical as my message for Trump: these things may occur. But it is our duty to make sure they do not.