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“Things happen.” Just two words. That was enough for the US president to brush off what is probably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his contempt for the press, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The US president’s dismissive attitude of the killing of well-known reporter Jamal Khashoggi came during a press conference with the Saudi leader, MBS – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)

The American spy agencies were not the only ones to determine the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the 59-year-old journalist was sedated and cut apart – was approved at the top echelons. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were in agreement in their criticism of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted sanctions and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the kingdom has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to the US capital 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 presidential residence was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did Trump honor Prince Mohammed but he seemed to alter history – and then blamed the deceased. The crown prince, he asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his country’s own intelligence services determined previously. Moreover, Trump said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This represents a fresh and shameful low for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the media. Trump has smeared journalists (he called ABC news, whose reporter asked the question about Khashoggi at the Saudi press conference “false information”), berated them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued news outlets for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to be shut down.

He has pressured established media out of the official briefing group for declining to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed funding for essential public media at home and crucial free press internationally.

Broader Implications

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman”).

It is unsurprising that that year was the deadliest year on file for journalists in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those responsible for journalist killings has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.

In no place is this more evident than in Israel, which is responsible for the killing of over two hundred media workers in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The effect on society is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are violations of our entitlement to information and on our liberty to exist without fear and safely.

On Thursday, CPJ gathers for its annual global journalism honors. 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.