Although 2025 has seen some significant and challenging events, it is important to look back at the year and learn from it. Important events from this year include political violence, global conflicts and new presidential decisions.

Political Activity

No Kings Protests

On June 14, about five million people emerged in a feat of activism from all across the United States and deemed it the No Kings Day protest. This was the largest protest seen since the Women’s March in 2017 against the actions of President Trump when he first took office. The No Kings march was in response to perceived acts of tyranny by President Trump and breaches of constitutional law. The second No Kings march occurred on Oct. 18, protesting the same breaches of law, reaching a new record high of seven million Americans. This action against the current administration has created an even larger rift between common citizens of the United States, inciting larger debates about what the true foundation of what it means to be American.

Charlie Kirk Assassination

Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and commentator, was conducting one of his routine debates at Utah Valley University when he was assassinated by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. Robinson shot Kirk in the neck from a nearby building on campus; he was later apprehended by local authorities and put in custody for first-degree murder. Kirk’s death sparked a myriad of reactions from people across the United States, some stating that the man’s death was deserved because of his rhetoric concerning the effectiveness of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and his statements, while others state that no person deserves to be murdered in front of their wife and children, no matter their political affiliation.

Two Senators in Minnesota Dead

On June 14, former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman were shot in their home by 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter. This was believed to be connected to the shooting of Sen. John Hoffman, which occurred only a few short days after the first incident. Both of these senators had writing about them in Boelter’s journal with anti-abortion messaging. After this tragedy occurred, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota spoke at a press conference, calling the shooting a “politically motivated attack” and condemning the suspect in question.

Global Conflicts

Sudan

Former Military Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan staged a coup in early 2023 against the government of Sudan. This sparked a civil war led by the former military leader, now head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, against the Rapid Support Forces. This conflict has turned from a civil war to a nationwide genocide in just two years. Civilian casualties have reached over 7 million through means of starvation and public executions. The country of Sudan has been declared to be in a famine-type condition by the United Nations, displacing 12 million people. The genocide in Sudan has not had missed in news coverage over the last two years despite having one of the largest civilian death tolls in modern history.

Ukrainian-Russian War

In late 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin staged a military assault on Ukraine, stating that the land is inherently Russia’s territory since it was part of the USSR. This war has resulted in more than 70,000 deaths among both civilians and soldiers alike. Throughout the conflict, there have been many attempts at a ceasefire between the two warring countries, but none have succeeded. Some Americans blame President Trump for not being able to negotiate with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, while others blame Ukraine’s President, Vladimir Zelensky, for drawing out the fighting.

Palestinian-Israeli War

On Oct. 7, 2024, the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel with a barrage of missiles, followed by militants attacking in over a dozen different positions along the border of the West Bank and Israel. This attack resulted in the death of about 1200 Israeli people dead and over 200 Israelis taken as hostages. In an act of revenge for this violence by Hamas, the Israeli government has pointed its weapons towards the civilians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has killed at least 60,000 Palestinian civilians and has injured over 135 thousand. Israel has destroyed over two-thirds of the buildings in Gaza, resulting in citizens having to camp in tents next to the Mediterranean Sea, where Israel has created blockades against any humanitarian aid attempting to make its way into Gaza. Even though there have been attempts to create a ceasefire by foreign entities such as the United States, Israel has breached ceasefires over 47 times throughout the course of 2025.

Trump Administration

To start off his presidency, Donald Trump signed over 200 executive orders to undo the actions of the Biden administration. Those include an attempt to restore the death penalty and attempting to deem modern education as “racially indoctrinating children”. Throughout the document, President Trump established the Patriotic Student Award, an honor bestowed upon students who demonstrate their knowledge of the United States Constitution.

One of Trump’s first actions as president was to pull out of the Paris agreement, an organization with the United Nations made to control climate change. His reason for leaving the organization was reportedly that they were not paying their dues.

One of the largest items President Trump campaigned for during the 2024 election was forcefully removing illegal immigrants from this country. The Trump administration’s goal was to eradicate any criminal threats from immigrants in the USA. The Trump administration has taken action on this promise by deploying the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into American cities. The Trump administration reports that about 530,000 deportations have been enforced in 2025. Although the current reports of ICE seem to be significant, the organization’s tactics are controversial. ICE agents are known to use unmarked vehicles and masks to conceal their identities from the general public, often making arrests without warrants or considering public safety. Reports such as a priest being shot in the head with a pepper bullet for praying near them or officers pulling a man having a seizure out of his car to be detained. This has created a large amount of discourse in the United States about whether ICE should exist or not.