What a Year We’ve Had
Looking back at the top posts of 2025, looking forward to 2026
What a year we’ve had. It has felt more like five years…or maybe a decade. And what a year we will have, one in which we can continue to prove our commitment to our beloved country and our determination to defy the authoritarian madness of this hateful regime and its depraved and deranged leader.
In an effort to grasp what we’ve lived through, I’ve gathered here 10 essays and one live video recorded during the Oct. 18 No Kings protest. These are among the most popular works published by America, America during 2025.
You will see that I begin with two essays from November last year, one published the day after the 2024 election and the other published several days later. It seemed to me that the best way to reflect on the last year requires remembering that moment right after the election and then a few days later after absorbing the initial shock of Trump retaking the White House.
I won’t attempt to summarize in a few sentences all the twists and turns of 2025—the daily onslaught of a regime devoted to dismantling our democratic institutions and alliances, ruthlessly attacking our values and principles, lawlessly abusing both undocumented immigrants and American citizens. But I will say that these essays and the comments from America, America readers underscore our horror at what’s happened in America, our determination to comprehend it and our commitment to opposing it.
I hope you find it valuable to look back at the year through this work. Let me conclude by noting that I’m looking toward 2026 with optimism. This is the year when the feckless, kowtowing Republicans in Congress can be returned to the minority, making it possible for a Democratic majority to strengthen its opposition; this includes investigating and prosecuting the lawlessness of Trump and his regime.
As I noted last week (“We Can’t Stop Caring”), the year ahead takes on special meaning because it’s the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding: This is our chance to prove with a loud voice and great purpose that we will not tolerate the despotic rule of a demagogue and his sycophantic regime ending our democratic project. You can be sure that America, America will be devoted to confronting the regime’s continuing abuses, speaking truth to power and making every effort to help limit the damage of Donald Trump’s mad reign.
The next year will be pivotal. May 2026 represent the year when Americans saved their republic from tyranny.
What the Voters Chose, What We Do Now (11/6/24)
Yes, Donald Trump will be the next president. Our resistance continues.
What I Won’t Get Over and (Some of) What to Do Now (11/11/24)
As we grapple with where we are and the road ahead
The Sociopaths Think Victory Is Theirs (2/7/25)
Elon Musk and his sidekick Donald Trump are remorseless in their pursuit to dismantle our government. But they’re wrong to assume their coup has succeeded.
Can America Ever Overcome the Shame of Trump? (3/1/25)
Never forget the day in our Oval Office when Donald Trump and JD Vance abused and betrayed a democratic ally and a genuine hero in the midst of a barbaric war with Russia. A Saturday prompt.
What Trump Can’t Do (3/21/25)
Nine facts that show we are still Americans. We will not give in to Trump’s dictatorial regime. We are still human. We will decide our own fate.
Snapshot: “These Republicans Cannot Know a Moment of Peace” (4/29/25)
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker calls for mass protests and disruptions in response to the Trump regime’s cruelty and “authoritarian power grabs”
He’ll Never Be Respected in the World (5/16/25)
He can demand it. He can travel to the Middle East and pretend he’s getting it. But we can be sure that most will never give it to him.
How Much More Stupidity Will Americans Endure? (5/23/25)
Reflecting on the escalating hostility to America values, principles and decency in a 24-hour period
America’s National Embarrassment (7/28/25)
Donald Trump goes to Scotland, spreading his mess on the global stage
No Kings Protest in NYC: A Joyful Mood (10/18/25)
A recording from Steven Beschloss’s 11-minute live video, including interviews with protestors.
Will This Photo Define the Trump Years? (11/8/25)
In this single moment, we got more visual evidence of Trump’s absence of compassion, indeed the indifference to the suffering of another human. A Saturday prompt.
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After revisiting all of these brilliant observations, little wonder that I feel the urge to make Asian cabbage rolls. Something, anything, to distract from the pile-on of terrible news and looming fascism our country has endured. A new recipe is desperately needed, and not just for cabbage rolls.