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“Incidents take place.” Just two words. That’s all it took for the US president to effectively dismiss what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The US president’s dismissal of the murder of well-known reporter the Washington Post columnist came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the CIA concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the journalist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has rejected accusations.)

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

Global Reactions

For a short time, governments were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The United States enacted sanctions and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it stopped short 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 redemption.

White House Remarks

Opponents of the regime had strongly criticized the visit. But what was evident at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his country’s own spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject point for a president who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the press. Trump has defamed reporters (he called ABC news, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), scolded them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier the convicted criminal), taken legal action against media organizations for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has forced veteran news services out of the official briefing group for refusing to use terminology of his preference, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at domestically and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

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 murder – becomes not just unimportant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the most lethal year on file for journalists in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to hold those responsible for reporter murders has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

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

Effect on Society

The impact on society is profound. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are violations of our rights to know and on our freedom to live freely and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the identical as my message for Trump: these things may happen. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.