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2025 has been a long, strange trip.
The year provided plenty of reasons to yell, “What the fuck?!” into the void, but this trip around the sun also featured a handful of opportunities to celebrate as well.
Here’s a look back at some wins and the heroes behind them—and some reasons to smile.
No Kings protests
In June, millions of people around the globe took to the streets to remind the rest of the country—and the world—that the U.S. does not abide wannabe “kings” and authoritarian vibes.
And MAGA seethed over it.
Ahead of the major protest against President Donald Trump’s second term, right-wing personalities warned of violence and mayhem that would undoubtedly come from radical leftists. But when people took to the streets with signs and flags, the moment shared across the nation only produced power and joy.
Cory Booker
We’ll give it to him: The man can yap. If you can recall that far back in this endless year, the Democratic senator from New Jersey gave a marathon speech in April in protest of Trump and DOGE jerk Elon Musk’s actions, which lasted a whopping 25 hours. Booker’s long-winded effort set an early precedent for a much-desired fight from the Democratic Party, and his message was taken to heart by his colleagues in their actions to come.
The Portland frog
Hear us out. While Trump and his MAGA cult members were screaming about the dangerous, radical left taking over the streets of Rose City, an unsung hero was suiting up in an inflatable green costume to tear the accusations to shreds. That’s a reason to smile.
Redistricting wins
When Trump forced his 2026 redistricting plans onto states like Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri, Democrats in California and Virginia agreed to some tit for tat.
Essentially, the two states took their redistricting plans to a referendum, allowing the decision to be in voters’ hands rather than forcing it through—unlike other GOP-led states. Californians resoundingly approved redrawing the state’s congressional maps to favor Democrats.
If red states are going to play the gerrymandering game, Democrats suiting up and pushing back represent a sorely needed win.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s visit to CECOT
In March, Trump deported 252 Venezuelan men who he claimed were dangerous Tren de Aragua gang members to a notoriously awful prison in El Salvador. The only problem was that one man aboard a plane en route to the infamous terrorism confinement center known as CECOT wasn’t meant to be there.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported despite being granted protective status by a judge in 2019. Instead of admitting their mistake, the Trump administration doubled down on its misstep and refused to return the father of two back to Maryland.
In a powerful moment, Delaware Sen. Chris Van Hollen secured a meeting with Abrego Garcia, traveling to El Salvador to meet face to face with him and confirm his well-being. Van Hollen’s trip was more than just a meeting, though. His persistence signified a pushback from Democrats who, like many others speaking out, didn’t agree with Trump’s cruel and lawless deportation tactics.
The Epstein file vote
After Trump somehow flipped from pushing to release the files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to calling it a Democrat “hoax” and refusing to disclose the information to the public, a bipartisan Congress voted to force its release on Nov. 19.
This win was a long time coming, with Democrats in the House Oversight Committee sprinkling Trump and Epstein Easter eggs in spurts as they released information they obtained.
But when the vote was finally forced despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s many delays, it gave a sense of power and hope to the many citizens and alleged Epstein victims who were forced to demand transparency for far too long.
Zohran Mamdani
Ladies and everyone else: introducing the serially cheesing millennial who took New York City—and MAGA—by storm. The self-proclaimed democratic socialist quickly rose through the ranks of mayoral candidates as he promised things like free public buses and community grocery stores. Now, he’s secured his place as the Big Apple’s mayor-elect. And he managed to grin next to Trump as he happily agreed that the president is, in fact, a fascist.
The Sandwich Guy
When Sean Dunn was arrested for lobbing his Subway footlong at a Border Patrol officer in Washington, D.C., the public was unsure of what this meant for the growing resistance to Trump’s invasion of the nation’s “dangerous” capital.
But as it turns out, former Fox News talking head-turned U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro couldn’t even indict a ham sandwich.
Dunn’s spontaneous response to Trump’s infiltration of Washington initially sparked a laughter-filled response from the left which, for months, had been labeled as violent and vicious by Trump. But something about mustard and onions hitting the agent’s bulletproof vest challenged that claim.
Gavin Newsom’s trolling
Okay, it might not actually be the California governor behind the helm of his social media accounts, but he has done a stellar job at hiring for his social media team. In the past year, Newsom has held up a mirror to Trump’s unhinged, all-caps rants and AI meme-trolling by partaking in his own.
From hilarious “Thank you for your attention to this matter” tweets to introducing his own bully-style nicknames (ahem, “Tiny Hands”), the outspoken Newsom has captured the country’s attention by standing up to Trump at every turn.
And while stooping to the president’s fifth-grade humor level might not solve anything, Newsom’s antics sure did put a smile on plenty of faces.
What did you consider bright spots in 2025? Please share in the comments below.
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Alix Breeden
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