President Donald Trump mouthed some of the right words Thursday when he said it appears that dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi had probably been murdered and that the consequences would be "very severe" if blame is firmly tied to the Saudi government. But, hours later at a campaign rally, he praised Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte, who won a special election last year despite body-slamming a Guardian journalist to the ground _ an act for which Gianforte later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge.
"By the way, never wrestle him," Trump said to laughter from the crowd. "Any guy who can do a body slam ... he's my guy."
Remember, this is the same Trump who has described some U.S. media _ the ones reporting stories he doesn't like _ as "enemies of the people," routinely makes cordoned-off press pools targets of his supporters' wrath during campaign appearances, and has supported some of the most illiberal and repressive authoritarian heads of state around the world, from the Saudi royal family to Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte to Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who at last count had imprisoned 237 journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that at least 44 journalists have been murdered for doing their jobs so far this year; Khashoggi would be the 45th. That list includes four American journalists _ staffers of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., who were shot to death when a gunman opened fire on their office in June. A fifth newspaper employee, a sales assistant, also died.
Over the past decade, the committee reports, worldwide at least 632 journalists have been killed in connection with their work.
And our president makes light over a physical attack by a politician against a working journalist. That's dangerous territory.
When the ostensible leader of the free world openly targets journalists with his words, and gives wink-and-nod approval for physical attacks against them, he gives cover to the despots of the world.
You have to wonder whether that's his intent.
