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“Things happen.” Just two words. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is probably the most infamous journalist killing of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for the media – and for the truth.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissal of the killing of prominent journalist the Washington Post columnist came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to conclude the homicide – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was approved at the highest levels. An investigation led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached comparable findings.

Global Reactions

For a brief period, nations were unified in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The US enacted penalties and visa bans in that year over the murder, although it stopped short of penalizing Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the final confirmation of that redemption.

Presidential Comments

Critics of the government had strongly criticized the visit. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did Trump fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote the facts – and then blamed the victim. Prince Mohammed, Trump asserted when asked, was unaware about the murder – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s spy agencies concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or disapproved, incidents occur.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a fresh and shameful point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his disdain for the truth – or for the press. He has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “fake news”), scolded them in public (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued media organizations for large amounts of money in frivolous cases, and called for news outlets he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.

He has forced veteran news services out of the official briefing group for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has gutted financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media internationally.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an atmosphere in which reporters are clearly more vulnerable in the United States, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that that year was the deadliest year on record for the press in the over three decades the press freedom organization has been documenting this data: a persistent failure to hold those accountable for journalist killings has established a culture of impunity in which journalists’ killers are actually able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the killing of more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on society is profound. Attacks on journalists are attacks on the truth. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to live freely and securely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. The statement there is the same as my message for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.