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What a year! AVC has been posting weekly news and commentary in service to our Mission Statement, “Equipping evangelicals for faithful political engagement that cultivates healthy communities across America,” and there has been no shortage of news to talk about. Looking back, here is what we believe to be the top news stories for AVC this year.
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10. Neo-Nazis Emboldened
Neo-Nazis, groypers, white supremacists, fascists, and Hitler fanboys were emboldened by the new Trump presidency and its racialized immigration policies and tactics.
A November 2024 Wired magazine article noticed, “Neo-Nazis Are on the March Across America [ [link removed] ],” and correctly predicted that these groups will “ramp up demonstrations as they envision themselves influencing and engaging with not just state but federal policies. And by latching onto Trumpism—whether MAGA likes it or not—they’re trying to prod his supporters into backing an increasingly extreme version of their president.”
Indeed, Neo-Nazis have influenced U.S. policy in 2025. In May, President Donald Trump announced [ [link removed] ] that 59 white South Africans would be admitted into the U.S. as refugees based upon a false claim about a “white genocide” in South Africa that originally came from Neo-Nazis and has spread throughout right-wing media.
In July, we wrote [ [link removed] ] about Corey Mahler, a popular podcaster who targets young Christian men with messages like, “Jesus Christ is Lord, and Adolf Hitler is His faithful servant.” That same month, Jubilee hosted a debate featuring young conservatives, some of whom proudly declared their preferences for fascism and a whites-only nation.
Some MAGA leaders have started showing concern, however, over the Nazis in their tent [ [link removed] ]. A major rift has been splitting the MAGA coalition after Tucker Carlson hosted a Neo-Nazi on his podcast in October.
9. ‘No Kings’ Protests
There have been many protests over the growing authoritarianism and cruelty toward immigrants in the U.S. this year. The largest were the two “No Kings” protests in June, approximately 5 million people, and October, approximately 7 million people. Contrary to the many myths about the “No Kings” protests [ [link removed] ], these demonstrations were peaceful, cross-ideological, and cross-generational.
“Presidents aren’t kings [ [link removed] ],” we wrote in our Feb. 21 newsletter, reacting to Trump’s expressions of affinity toward kingship.
8. Evangelicals Mobilize on Immigration
Evangelicals actively opposed the immoral actions, dehumanizing rhetoric, and civil rights violations of the current administration on immigration.
2025 began [ [link removed] ] with Trump spreading misinformation about immigrants. Early on New Years Day, there was a violent attack in New Orleans that killed 15 people. Trump claimed the attacker was an immigrant even though he’s a natural born U.S. citizen.
AVC then participated in a January conference on immigration in Columbus, Ohio, “Who Is My Neighbor? Summit on Immigration, Springfield, and the Church.” The conference was quickly put together after Trump falsely claimed in a presidential debate that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were eating dogs and cats. Despite the limited time, the turnout was incredible. 234 people attended the conference, another 198 watched online, and 13 organizations co-hosted, including AVC, World Relief, Evangelical Immigration Table, Holy Post Media, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, National Association of Evangelicals, AND Campaign, and Disarming Leviathan. You can watch the event on YouTube here [ [link removed] ].
Since then, as we’ve witnessed the mistreatment of immigrants throughout 2025, AVC has noticed many evangelicals becoming increasingly active on the immigration. And as we close out 2025, evangelicals are participating [ [link removed] ] in “Advent Welcome: Immigration Solidarity Initiative [ [link removed] ]” or #RoomInTheInn, led by the National Latino Evangelical Coalition.
7. AI Gets Scary Good
2025 saw huge advances in artificial intelligence (AI). The advances promise much benefit for humanity, such as cures for disease. But bad actors can also use this new technology to spread disinformation and worsen hyper-polarization. We already got a taste of this in 2025. In June, AI was used to spread disinformation during the LA protests [ [link removed] ]. An AI video [ [link removed] ] of a national guardsman preparing to gas protestors went viral on TikTok. AI videos have gotten even better in the 6 months since then. As the New York Times reported [ [link removed] ] this month, videos have been posted with the AI label removed, but even when these labels are present, some viewers don’t pay attention and believe they are real.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a 10 year moratorium on any AI regulation, but it was killed by a 99-1 vote in the Senate. Then this month, Trump put the moratorium in place via executive order, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says [ [link removed] ] he doesn’t have the authority to do that.
6. GOP Split Over Epstein Files
There was an interesting turn of events when the MAGA movement (and influencers) began to realize Trump merely campaigned on “Release the Epstein files!” with no intention of actually releasing anything of consequence.
As voices in the movement became louder in their demand for transparency, the administration’s resistance prompted a rare bipartisan push in Congress to force the issue. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna worked on a congressional bill [ [link removed] ] to force a release of the files from the DOJ, which passed in both the House and Senate. The public has received several waves of heavily redacted document releases, but very little action or incrimination has come from them.
The bigger outcome of the “Epstein files scandal” has been the discord [ [link removed] ] it created among MAGA’s biggest voices—Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, Lara Loomer, and others—over whether or not Trump has something to hide and if it’s all been one big “cover up.” This began a fracturing of what has been a united base for Trump over the past decade.
5. DOGE / Foreign Aid Cancelled
Led by Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE”, was established by Executive Order in January 2025. The stated goal was to increase government efficiency and cut wasteful spending. After 11 months, with many scandals under its belt, it was discontinued.
Over those 11 months, DOGE cut:
83% of USAID programs
$8 billion in foreign aid
$4 billion for children: maternal/child health, HIV/AIDS (PEPFAR), economic support
Musk claimed that organizations receiving USAID grants were corrupt for doing so, yet Trump supporter Franklin Graham’s organization Samaritan’s Purse received [ [link removed] ] a waiver for its over $90 million in USAID funding.
Here [ [link removed] ] is a thorough timeline of DOGE’s dismantling of foreign aid in 2025. The effects of these cuts will take time to fully calculate, but it is estimated [ [link removed] ] that hundreds of thousands of deaths have occurred as a direct result of this rescinded aid.
In the August AVC newsletter [ [link removed] ], we discussed one horrific story [ [link removed] ] that came out of DOGE’s reckless style of operations. There are too many like these to cover, but it’s imperative to take note of how the incompetence of this program both endangered and ended many lives.
4. Migrants Sent to Foreign Torture Prison
Trump’s penchant for ignoring the Constitution and human rights came together in one of the most horrific events of 2025. In March, the administration sent [ [link removed] ] about 240 Venezuelan migrants to CECOT, a notorious prison in El Salvador. The prisoners’ due process rights were ignored. The administration claimed they were all gang members, using flimsy evidence, such as tattoos. Over 75 percent of them [ [link removed] ] had no criminal record and at least 50 were in the country legally.
Here are two examples:
Andry Hernandez Romero [ [link removed] ], a make up artist who fled El Salvador because his life was in danger, was detained while seeking asylum at a legal border crossing. DHS claimed his two crown tattoos bearing the named “mom” and “dad” signified his membership in the Tren de Aragua gang, even though that gang doesn’t use tattoos to signify gang membership.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, another Venezuelan asylum seeker, was in the U.S. legally and sent to CECOT due to an “administrative error.” The Trump administration initially claimed they couldn’t do anything about that because he was in the custody of El Salvador, but then eventually got him returned as the case continued in the courts. Abrego Garcia’s case is still in limbo as another judicial decision is expected [ [link removed] ] later today.
3. Ukraine Betrayed
As predicted, Trump’s presidency did not serve the interests of Ukraine in 2025 and did, in fact, put the future of its people in desperate peril as they endure in their fight against Russia’s illegal, continued invasion.
Towards the beginning of the year, the Trump administration cut military aid [ [link removed] ] intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Then came the infamous meeting [ [link removed] ] between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and President Trump in the Oval Office, when both Trump and VP Vance publicly berated Zelenskyy. As the year went on, a leaked peace plan [ [link removed] ] showed the Trump administration’s clear favor of Russia, revealing that Ukraine will get “nothing” from the United States. According to the plan, Ukraine would be permanently excluded from joining NATO, its military capped at 600,000 troops, Russia’s sanctions removed, and Moscow would be allowed to rejoin the G8.
Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine this year was so significant, even key European leaders [ [link removed] ] publicly voiced their alarm and concern for the future of this democratic ally and its ripple of impact on Europe more broadly.
2. Charlie Kirk Assassinated
The assassination of Charlie Kirk [ [link removed] ] shocked the world on September 10th, 2025. Watching a young man get shot in the throat while debating UVU college students was a horrific moment watched online by millions, and will go down as a modern-day American tragedy. It also served as a broader indicator of the new era of political violence America has entered into. The MAGA movement quickly descended into a civil war of sorts—fighting over conspiracies related to the shooting and making territorial moves for Kirk’s following.
While AVC has raised serious concerns over the years about Kirk’s work at TPUSA and the Christian Nationalism we oppose, we never would have wished this fate upon him or our country. America must find its way back to disagreeing civilly and arguing in good faith, otherwise we will continue to succumb to further political violence in the future.
1. Trump Inaugurated, Tramples Constitution, Bill of Rights
Starting on day one [ [link removed] ] of Trump’s second term in office, he signed a flurry of Executive Orders which many felt overstepped his authority and were plainly unconstitutional. Of the most highly criticized was his move to end birthright citizenship (which is guaranteed under the 14th Amendment). This has gone back and forth in lower courts all year and has finally moved up to the Supreme Court. We will not have a final answer until 2026. You can learn more here [ [link removed] ].
With so many blatant abuses of presidential power executed over the course of 2025, it’s hard to choose which specific cases are worth highlighting in review. Which brings me to this reminder: That is the exact point. Trump’s master strategy has always been to “flood the zone”. The more crises consistently flooding our media ecosystems, the more significant power grabs he can sneak in. From violating the Emoluments Clause [ [link removed] ], to taking away immigrants’ rights to due process [ [link removed] ], to targeting his political opponents [ [link removed] ] with criminal retribution, to the MANY more times he has disrespected our democratic norms and institutions—Trump has made clear time and again that his intention is not to respect the American way, but to be a King with unchecked power.
Just as President Lincoln said, if America is ever to fall, “It must spring up amongst us.” It’s a shame that his very own party is the one that brought us exactly what the Founders feared: a tyrant unchecked by a cowardly Congress. In this 2026 mid-term election year, we must renew our commitment to American values by engaging in our personal civic duty to hold our elected officials to account. Trump will never stop being Trump, but we can step up and be an engaged electorate. The time is now.
What do you think? What did we miss? How would you rank them? Let us know in the comments.
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