January

For three weeks wildfires raged around Los Angeles. Perhaps 30 people were killed but 200,000 were evacuated, 18,000 homes and structures destroyed and 57,529 acres burnt. Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President. On his first day he issued about 1,500 pardons for people charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol in 2021; he created the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE), led by Elon Musk; he signed executive orders on gender and immigration and withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization. The state funeral of Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, was held in Washington, DC. Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and the return of hostages held in Gaza. Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta would remove fact-checkers from Facebook, Instagram and Threads, replacing them with a community-driven system.

February

Mr. Trump began imposing tariffs, starting with Mexico, Canada and China. He and J.D. Vance, the Vice-President, berated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at a press conference in the Oval Office. Mr. Vance asked him: “Have you said thank you once?” President Emmanuel Macron of France said peace “must not mean a surrender of Ukraine”; he was speaking at a press conference with Mr. Trump, who placed a rebuffed hand on his knee. Mr. Trump announced that the US would take control of the Gaza Strip in an agreement with Israel. Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of Britain, visited the White House with a letter of invitation from the King for Mr. Trump to pay him an official visit. Starbucks announced it would cut 1,100 jobs in its stores in the US.

March

Mark Carney was elected leader of the Liberals in Canada, succeeding Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister. French politician Marine Le Pen was barred from standing for office for five years, after being convicted of using EU parliamentary money for salaries for her National Rally party. Denmark’s postal service announced that it would cease the delivery of letters at the end of 2025. The price of gold touched $3,000 an ounce.

April

Mr. Trump imposed so-called Liberation Day tariffs on a wide range of countries, including the uninhabited McDonald Islands. The federal government froze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University after it defied the Trump administration’s demands to limit pro-Palestinian protesters. Pope Francis died, aged 88. In St. Peter’s Basilica before the funeral, Mr. Trump, on a little red and goldy chair, spoke to Mr. Zelensky, on another. Gold reached $3,500.

May

For the first time, white South Africans were brought to the US as part of its refugee program. Mr. Starmer agreed to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Mr. Carney met Mr. Trump, who felt his knee, at the White House. Mr. Trump said farewell to Mr. Musk after 130 days as a “special government employee.” The Mexican Navy three-masted training ship Cuauhtémoc collided with the Brooklyn Bridge, killing two and injuring 25. Cardinal Robert Prevost, born in Chicago and raised just outside the city limits in Dolton, Illinois, was elected Pope Leo XIV.

June

Israel launched strikes on long-range missile sites in Iran; the United States bombed three nuclear sites there.Mr. Musk posted critical remarks about Mr. Trump on X, claiming that his name was on the Epstein client list. An appeals court ruled that Mr. Trump could keep control of National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles, despite objections from Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California. Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed at their house in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The King of England asked Mr. Zelensky to lunch at Windsor Castle.

July

The Senate passed the One Big, Beautiful Bill on tax and spending by 51-50, with Vice-President Vance casting a tiebreaker vote. Mr. Trump put a 50 percent tariff on most imports from Brazil. The first immigrant detainees arrived at Alligator Alcatraz in Florida. Ukraine suffered its biggest aerial attack from Russia. Severe flooding in Texas caused widespread destruction, prompting Mr. Trump to sign a major disaster declaration for Kerr County. Sean “Diddy” Combs, the former rapper, was convicted of transportation for the purposes of prostitution (he was later sentenced to four years in jail). An explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Esparto, California, killed seven.

August

In Alaska, Mr. Trump met Vladimir Putin, who was accorded a red carpet and given a lift in the Beast, the presidential automobile. They discussed Ukraine. Mr. Trump threw more tariffs around and deployed the National Guard to Washington, DC. The FBI raided the home of John Bolton, the former national security advisor. Mark David Chapman, who shot John Lennon dead in 1980, was denied parole. A federal judge ordered the closure of Alligator Alcatraz.

September

Charlie Kirk, a promoter of conservative ideas and the founder of Turning Point USA, a student organization, was shot dead on an outdoor stage at Utah Valley University. A 22-year-old man was charged with his murder. Lord Mandelson was sacked as the British ambassador to Washington after the publication of emails of support sent by him to Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Trump, on his state visit to Britain, was taken for a royal carriage ride around Windsor Great Park, well away from the people. Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza City. An agreement was reached with China to allow TikTok to continue operating in America. Appeal judges put on hold an order to wind down operations at Alligator Alcatraz.

October

A shutdown of the federal government began, after senators failed to pass a funding bill, and lasted until November 12. The last 20 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were returned to Israel. At Sharm el-Sheikh, Mr. Trump enjoyed the signing ceremony for a peace agreement over Gaza. María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan pro-democracy campaigner, won the Nobel Peace Prize. Nvidia, the chip-maker, became the first company to reach a market valuation of $5,000 billion. In the shadow of his past acquaintance with Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew, a brother of the King of England, had all titles and honors removed, making him Mr. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, began a five-year jail sentence. A huge blast at an explosives plant in Tennessee killed 16. Gold rose above $4,000.

November

Mr. Trump threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corporation “for $1 billion” after Tim Davie resigned as its director-general following the exposure of the editing of a speech by Mr. Trump that had made it look as though he was urging people to attack the Capitol in 2021. Mr. Trump called his former ally Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wacky, a lunatic and a traitor to the party. Then he suddenly declared: “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.” DoGE was shut down, eight months ahead of schedule. Nancy Pelosi said she would retire in 2027. Two National Guardsmen were shot, one fatally, in Washington, DC; a man from Afghanistan was arrested. The US demanded Ukraine should relinquish Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk to Russia. The socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani, 34, was elected Mayor of New York. Fire tore through seven tower blocks in Hong Kong. Mr. Sarkozy was let out of jail.

December

Mr. Putin said: “If Europe starts a war, Russia is ready right now.” Russia welcomed Mr. Trump’s new National Security Strategy, calling it “largely consistent” with Moscow’s. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, asked its President, Isaac Herzog, for a pardon over corruption charges he is facing. Republicans won a congressional election in Tennessee. Mr. Musk said the EU “should be abolished” after it fined X $140 million. Netflix agreed to buy Warner Bros. Prada bought Versace.        CSH

This article was originally published in The Spectator’s December 22, 2025 World edition.