This year's elections offered early signs of what to expect in next year's midterms. After much of the country shifted rightward last year, Democrats got a much-needed shot in the arm with a string of impressive victories. The elections have also underscored some of President Trump's weaknesses as his party looks to hold onto both chambers of Congress next year. Still, it remains to be seen whether Democrats can maintain that momentum in 2026, especially as the party grapples with its own divisions. As 2025 comes to a close, here are five takeaways from this year's elections.

Donald Trump was confused. His top political aide, James Blair, arrived in the Oval Office one afternoon this April to pitch a novel gambit: Republicans could begin padding their narrow U.S. House majority well before voters went to the polls in November 2026. If successful, the move could insulate the White House from a potentially brutal midterm election — the kind, both men knew, that beset Trump during his first term, empowering a Democratic-controlled House to pursue endless investigations and impeach him twice. The idea: Lean on red states like Texas to break from tradition and redraw congressional maps well before the 2030 population count triggers a mandatory reallocation of House seats. Blair began considering the maneuver shortly after Election Day in 2024, finalizing a plan while others in the White House focused on staffing the new administration. Now, it was time to brief the president.

President Trump has emerged as the king of terrorist designations. During less than a year in office, he has added more groups to the State Department's Foreign Terrorist Organization list than any other administration did over four years. He has expanded the definition of terrorists beyond ideologically based outfits to include smuggling cartels and nation-hopping gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, whose motivation is more about money or power than about the desire to terrorize. Mr. Trump is focused on the ends, not the means. He says the tens of thousands of Americans slain by fentanyl each year far outstrip the deaths caused by radical Islamic attacks, so groups that traffic the drugs deserve the full force of terrorism law.

The Trump administration said it has frozen child care payments for the state of Minnesota after a conservative YouTuber alleged that several centres run by Somali immigrants were taking public money without providing care. In a post on X on Tuesday, a top official with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cited the viral video, and said the agency would target "blatant fraud that seems to be rampant in Minnesota". State officials have pushed back against allegations of fraud in the video.

Best. Political year. Ever. Amirite? For all of us who rolled into the year wondering "How much more chaotic could a second Trump term be?" 2025 did not disappoint. As with President Trump's first spin in the White House, I felt it necessary to limit the president's eligibility for these awards, lest he overwhelm the field. It would be easy to get lost in all his administration's extraordinary — in some cases, possibly illegal — actions: abusing his pardon power, manhandling universities and law firms into bending the knee, unleashing the National Guard on American cities, blowing up boats in the Caribbean without congressional approval, using the Justice Department to target his perceived enemies, bullying Republican state lawmakers to redraw congressional maps, ordering cruel and capricious immigration raids. I could go on. But you get my point. In an era of political chaos and extremism, Mr. Trump belongs in a class of his own.

A very good record. The post The one record that is always at the top of John Lydon’s pile: “Doesn’t collect dust” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Starting on Sunday, there have been widespread anti-regime protests in Iranian cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad and Zahedan, primarily driven by economic distress, including the Iranian rial’s collapse to a record […] The post Anti-Islamic uprising in Iran continues: “This is the year of blood. Khamenei will be toppled.” first appeared on The Expose.

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