On Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Trump said ‘things happen.’ Critics say that crossed a line.

“Things happen.”

With those two dismissive words, President Donald Trump explained away the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi — while sitting in the Oval Office next to his guest, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man U.S. intelligence says ordered the killing.

This all played out Tuesday at the White House, as Trump defended Prince Mohammed and absolved him of having any role in the murder of the Post columnist.

When asked about Khashoggi’s murder, Trump told reporters, “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but (the crown prince) knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”

The Washington Post’s Michael Birnbaum, Susannah George and Natalie Allison wrote, “Trump’s dismissive language offered the highest-level confirmation yet that Mohammed will face few consequences for the killing, as the crown prince makes his first visit to Washington since Khashoggi was dismembered in a Saudi consulate in Turkey.”

Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron told TheWrap’s Michael Calderone that Trump’s comments were a “disgrace.” Baron added, “Just when you think Trump has gone as low as possible, he goes still lower.”

Former Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah, who was Khashoggi's editor, wrote on Bluesky, “Trump’s comments are vile.”

The Washington Post wrote a scathing editorial, saying, “These distortions dishonor Khashoggi’s legacy, stand at odds with the facts and are beneath the office of the president.” The board added, “The reality is that while Trump advocates peace through strength, he showed nothing but debility. No doubt other dictators took note. Legitimizing and defending Mohammed this way will embolden him and his ilk to mistreat not just journalists but any Americans — knowing that they’ll probably face no real consequences.”

Not only did Trump defend Prince Mohammed, he verbally attacked ABC News’ Mary Bruce for asking about Khashoggi’s murder. Trump said it was a “horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question.” He then added, “I think the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong.”

After another question from Bruce about why Trump was waiting on Congress instead of releasing more details about late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein himself, Trump said to her, “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.” (The Associated Press’ David Bauder has more in “Trump attacks ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce in angry response to three sharp questions.”)

The crown prince once again told reporters he was not responsible for Khashoggi’s death, saying it was “painful to hear” about anyone losing his life for “no real purpose.” He added, “We’ve did all the right steps of investigation, et cetera, in Saudi Arabia, and we’ve improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that. And it’s painful and it’s a huge mistake. And we are doing our best that this doesn’t happen again.”

In 2021, a U.S. intelligence report said Prince Mohammed approved the murder of Khashoggi. The report said, “We base this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and member of Muhammed bin Salman’s protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.”

The report added, “Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature with the Crown Prince’s authorization.”

At the time, The New York Times’ Julian E. Barnes and David E. Sanger wrote, “But the Biden administration took no direct action against Prince Mohammed, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, instead announcing travel and financial sanctions on other Saudis involved in the killing and on members of the elite unit of the Royal Guard who protect the crown prince. The administration concluded it could not risk a full rupture of its relationship with the kingdom, relied on by the United States to help contain Iran, to counter terrorist groups and to broker peaceful relations with Israel. Cutting off Saudi Arabia could also push its leaders toward China.”

However, all appears friendly between Trump and the crown prince. The Post wrote, “Trump offered a chummy welcome to Mohammed in the Oval Office, grasping his hand and wrist while mocking former president Joe Biden for offering a fist bump to the crown prince in 2022 because he did not want to shake hands with a man whose human rights record had been blasted by the U.S. intelligence community.”

Trump said, “Trump doesn’t give a fist pump. I grab that hand. I don’t give a hell where that hand’s been.” Trump added that Prince Mohammed was “one of the most respected people in the world.”

Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post’s director of press freedom initiatives, told NPR, "(We) at The Washington Post will continue to remind you that one of our colleagues in the not-so-distant past was murdered. That’s not something we can just wipe under the rug or forget about.”

In a lengthy statement, the National Press Club wrote, in part, that it was “deeply troubled” by Trump’s comments, adding, “Mr. Khashoggi's murder inside a diplomatic facility was a grave violation of human rights and a direct attack on press freedom. That fact is not in dispute.”

And Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, said, “President Trump’s reckless and dismissive response to the brutal murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi seven years ago is an absolute outrage. By brushing aside the clear findings of U.S. intelligence agencies pointing to senior Saudi involvement, and by demeaning and insulting the victim himself, Trump sends a chilling message to authoritarian governments: The United States will look the other way when writers and journalists are silenced as long as it serves the administration’s interests.”

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Interesting tweet

No one should be surprised by Trump rolling out the red carpet for Prince Mohammed and defending his role in Khashoggi’s murder.

Legendary Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward tweeted this on Tuesday:

​​I pressed Trump on MBS's role in the Khashoggi killing during a tape-recorded interview on  Jan. 22, 2020:

“I’ve gotten involved very much,” Trump said. “I know everything about the whole situation.”

So what happened, sir? I asked.

“I saved his ass," Trump said. “That’s what happened.”

Saved whose ass? 

“MBS,” Trump said. “They were coming down on him very strongly. But I was able to get Congress to leave him alone. I was able to get them to stop. . . You know, I’m very friendly with those guys.”

Which guys? The Saudis?

“Congress. I’m very friendly with Congress,” Trump said. 

(Rage, p. 227; The Trump Tapes, p. 190)

A very special guest

Sally Jenkins, the longtime sports columnist at The Washington Post who is now with The Atlantic, is my guest on the latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast,” which is out today.

We hit a slew of topics, including her reasons for leaving the Post after nearly 30 years, the future of that publication, how she chooses her topics, her writing process, what it’s like to work at The Atlantic, her book plans and the state of sports journalism.

She sees a future of sports journalism that not only includes great writing, but also other avenues.

Jenkins told me, “TikTok videos can be really, really interesting ways of telling abbreviated stories. And so I'm interested in all of that. I feel like there is a future where multimedia storytelling — I mean, sports, really lends itself to that. First of all, the sound of great sports is unmistakable and unique, and it's very hard to get that down in print. Some of multimedia lends itself to that. The ability to get snippets of player interviews right after the game up on Twitter quickly. I mean, that's fascinating. That's great for the audience, and that's great for newspapers, or media organizations. So I don't have a problem with all that stuff. I actually think there's a potential for some kind of coherent, coordinated multimedia sports product that is very documentary, very immediate, that moves, but also has great writing.”

Aside from watching on YouTube, you can also find the show on Apple, Spotify, and most places where you find podcasts.

Trump’s disrespectful remark

Trump can’t seem to go more than a few days without insulting someone in the media, usually going to his default line of “fake news” whenever someone asks him a question he doesn’t like. His attacks on the press are so common that, unfortunately, we’ve come to accept it as a part of who he is — as if a U.S. president calling the media “fake news” is in any way acceptable in a proper democracy.

But last week, Trump stooped to an even lower level by calling Catherine Lucey, Bloomberg’s White House correspondent, “piggy.”

Lucey was a part of a group of reporters speaking with Trump on Air Force One last Friday. She asked Trump about the potential release of the Epstein files. This was a few days before Trump said the files should be released.

Lucey started to ask, “If there’s nothing incriminating in the files …” Trump cut her off and said, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”

As The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr noted, many media members called out Trump’s disrespectful remark. CNN’s Jake Tapper wrote on social media, “Disgusting and completely unacceptable.” Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson wrote that it was “disgusting and degrading.”

Barr spoke with April Ryan, a longtime White House correspondent, who was referred to as “Miss Piggy” by Trump administration official Lynne Patton in 2018. (Patton apologized for the remark.)

Ryan told Barr, “The president of the United States is supposed to be the moral leader, the leader of the country, and he’s acting like some thug on the street,” she said. “It’s one thing for his minions to say that, but for him to call a woman that? That also shows how upset he is about the Epstein files. It lets us know that there’s probably some fire there.”

Bloomberg put out a statement Tuesday saying, “Our White House journalists perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favor. We remain focused on reporting issues of public interest fairly and accurately.”

The White House, when asked for comment, said, “This reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane. If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take it.”

Over the past decade, Trump has had several occasions when he has used disrespectful language about female reporters and politicians, often calling them “nasty” or describing their questions as “nasty.”

Media tidbits

• There’s a juicy soap opera playing out involving journalists Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza, her ex-boyfriend, that is all the buzz inside media circles. Lots of allegations and he-said/she-said gossip. Still lots of unknowns and reactions yet to come. If you want to follow along, you can start here: Mediaite’s Isaac Schorr with “‘What the Hell Is Going On?’ The Internet Melts Down Over Bombshell Allegation From Olivia Nuzzi’s Ex.”
• Variety’s Todd Spangler with “Nexstar Seeks FCC Approval of Tegna Acquisition, Requesting Waiver of 39% Ownership Cap Rule.”
• The New York Times’ Cecilia Kang with “Meta Did Not Violate Antitrust Law, Judge Rules.”
• My Poynter colleague Al Tompkins follows up on the big news from earlier this week in “Scripps tells staff a Sinclair takeover isn’t a done deal, even after surprise stock purchase.”
• The Los Angeles Times’ Lorraine Ali with “Megyn Kelly was trying to seize a moment. Why is anyone still listening to her?”
• In a guest essay for The New York Times, Thomas B. Edsall with “Who’s Afraid of Tucker Carlson? The Line Is Long.​​”
• The Hollywood Reporter’s Caitlin Huston with “Joe Rogan Had the Most Popular Podcast On Apple in 2025.” Rogan, by the way, took over the 2024 leader: The New York Times’ “The Daily,” which was No. 2 this year.
• Fox News’ Brian Flood with “FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott participates in fireside chat with University of South Carolina students.”
• ESPN announced its “NBA Countdown” studio show for this season and more interesting than who is on the show is who isn’t. Stephen A. Smith will not be a part of the panel. With so many other duties, including his main gig on ESPN’s “First Take,” Smith (and ESPN) has been looking for ways to lighten his schedule. He had been on “NBA Countdown” (or some versions of it) pretty much since 2003. Don’t be surprised, however, if he occasionally shows up on the show now and then. Awful Announcing’s Ben Axelrod has more.

Hot type

• For NBC News and “Today,” Sarah Lemire with “At almost 100, Dick Van Dyke won't sit still — and is eying 1 more big role.”

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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here. And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast for even more.