Seven years have passed since Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

A year after the killing, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency concluded that Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had been assassinated at the crown prince’s direction, his body dismembered by Saudi operatives with a bone saw. MBS has denied personally ordering the hit, though he has acknowledged responsibility “as a leader.”

In July 2022, President Joe Biden traveled to Jeddah and greeted MBS with a now-infamous fist bump, despite his earlier promise to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah.” The administration justified the visit as a matter of strategic necessity: oil markets, Iran, regional stability.

It was a pragmatic calculation, one that revealed how vital the U.S.–Saudi relationship remains, even for leaders who condemn Khashoggi’s killing. Washington relies on Riyadh for energy coordination, counterterrorism and regional diplomacy. Biden’s meeting showed that even his White House, after harsh campaign rhetoric, ultimately recognized the geopolitical weight the Saudi kingdom carries.

But what happened at the Trump White House this week went far beyond reluctant political maneuvering.

During his meeting with the crown prince, President Donald Trump was asked by ABC’s Mary Bruce about Khashoggi. His answer— “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” — was not just dismissive. It reduced an extrajudicial killing to an unfortunate accident. “Things happen” is not how an American president should describe an assassination carried out inside a diplomatic facility.

It’s one thing to maintain strong relations with Saudi Arabia; presidents of both parties have done that. Biden’s fist bump made that clear. The stakes in the Middle East — oil flows, Red Sea security and the Iran challenge — all demand engagement.

But it’s another thing entirely to casually excuse the killing of a U.S. resident and respected journalist when no such excuse is needed. Especially while simultaneously attacking a journalist for asking the question, calling her “fake news” and dismissing her network as “one of the worst in the business.”

That sends a message to authoritarians everywhere: flattering the president and spending lavishly in the U.S. is enough to erase even the worst abuses. The fact that the Trump Organization is working with the Saudi government on a luxury development project in the Maldives only deepens the perception of blurred ethics, even if the deal is technically separate.

Journalists are not widely beloved right now. A recent Gallup poll shows only 28% of Americans have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the news media. And this week’s whirlwind congressional effort to force the release of sealed Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein has placed Washington under an uncomfortable spotlight.

But none of that justifies the president’s escalating hostility toward reporters — hostility exemplified last week when he told Bloomberg News correspondent Catherine Lucey, who questioned him about the Epstein emails aboard Air Force One, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”

This isn’t merely undignified; it’s revealing. Leaders who are confident in their agenda don’t lash out at the press or make excuses for foreign strongmen who silence critics. They don’t diminish the stakes of political murder with a shrug and a cliché.

Engagement with Saudi Arabia is not optional for any American administration; Biden’s 2022 meeting proved that. But engagement is not the same as endorsement, and international relations do not require erasing basic moral boundaries. A president must be able to navigate strategic partnerships without losing sight of the values that define American leadership.

The world notices when that line is crossed.

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