Trump's Dismissal on Journalist's Murder Signals a New Low.

“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the past ten years – 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 dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The US intelligence services were not the sole entities to conclude the murder – which took place in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a short time, governments were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed penalties and travel restrictions in 2021 over the killing, although it refrained of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been gradually restoring itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

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 fete Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or didn’t like him, incidents occur.”

Established Conduct

This marks a new and abject low for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. He has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier the convicted criminal), sued news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he disapproves of to be shut down.

He has pressured veteran news services out of the official briefing group for declining to use language of his preference, and he has slashed funding for vital news services at home and crucial free press abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals disliked that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that 2024 was the most lethal year on record for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for reporter murders 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 clearer than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.

Societal Impact

The effect on the public is profound. Targeting reporters are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists meets for its annual global journalism honors. The statement there is the identical as my one for the president: these things may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.