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“Stuff occurs.” A mere phrase. That was enough 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 US president’s dismissive attitude of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, MBS – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in 2018. (The crown prince has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was drugged and cut apart – was signed off at the top echelons. An investigation led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed penalties and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it refrained of sanctioning the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the crown prince’s visit to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the visit. But what was evident at the White House was worse than could have been imagined. Not only did the president honor the Saudi leader but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then pointed fingers at the victim. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, things happen.”

Established Conduct

This represents a new and abject low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the media. Trump has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the inquiry about the journalist at the media event “fake news”), berated them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he disapproves of to be shut down.

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 domestically and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has created an environment in which reporters are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their targeting – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that person”).

It is no surprise that that year was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been tracking this data: a ongoing neglect to hold those accountable for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which journalists’ killers are literally able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Israel, which is responsible for the deaths of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The impact on society is deep. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ 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 cease.