Episode 448, The Andrew Parker Show - A Year in Review: How 2025 Reshaped America, the West, and the Global Order

In the final episode of 2025, Andrew Parker delivers a comprehensive year-in-review, examining the ten defining events that reshaped America, the West, and the global order.

From Donald Trump’s historic return to the presidency and the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, to the rise of artificial intelligence, escalating conflict in the Middle East, the bombing of Iran, and the accelerating normalization of antisemitism, this episode explores the political, moral, and cultural forces that altered the course of the year.

Andrew unpacks the resurgence of Islamist extremism, the war against Israel, the West’s retreat from its foundational values, and why 2025 marked more than a political turning point—it marked a civilizational reckoning.

This is a sobering, unfiltered assessment of where we stand as we close the year, and why 2026 will demand clarity, courage, and moral resolve.

Transcript

Episode 448, The Andrew Parker Show

Welcome to another episode of the Andrew Parker show. This is episode 448. And it is our last episode of 2025. Yes, indeed. We're going to take a look today at a year in review. And I've identified themes, actions.

big events, stories that occurred in 2025 and narrowed it down to 10.

I would consider the top ten. For me. May not be for you. Understood.

But, and these include themes, not just specific incidents or events, although many together created these themes. It also, ⁓ you know, the impact of some of these events were tsunami-like.

Number one.

the.

Trump inauguration. Donald J. Trump taking office in 2025 as President of the United States. What is it, 47th?

And it's, I mean, if you sit back and think about it in a vacuum, it is incredible. It is incredible that he ever got elected the first time, let alone the second time. Just in terms of history, US history and somebody like him actually being elected with as many votes as were cast.

tens of millions.

And he did it. And it changed the direction, the path of the world. As much as any single election in our nation's history, I would argue.

There may have been others who could have been elected.

but the difference, the stark difference between him and his opponent changed the path. And we were on a tough path after Joe Biden's four years.

Very difficult.

So the Trump inauguration, ⁓ big event, big, big event, affected many, many things later on in the year because Trump, as I did a show a few episodes ago,

Think what you want of him. He's got guts. And he has done things as President the United States in a year that no president has ever done, nor would do, of either party.

And you should listen to that episode.

Because I dare say, I think I'm correct about it, that he has done things already that no other president would have done. In fact, Barack Obama drew red lines and never did anything about him at all.

Trump has taken action, indeed. Number two, we had the longest government shutdown in US history with Donald Trump at the helm, that was a statement. Maybe it's a little bit, that's probably one of the weaker ones because it's a little bit same old, same old. Yeah, it was the longest, so it carries that banner, but.

It's not.

of unusual.

But along with the government shutdown was the use of tariffs and Donald Trump's use of tariffs. His willingness to have a government shutdown and not to direct his people to his people, the Republican Party that he leads. His use of tariffs. People hate him. The economists hate him. Creates unpredictability, that's the big thing and it's costing jobs.

Well, it's being used for national security as well as many other economic reasons.

And so long as he's using them correctly, not a bad idea.

A bad eye.

So that happened in 2025. Number three, AI and technology for that matter is on the march.

It's a continuing march.

And it is a troubling merge in my judgment.

People are not paying attention to it, and to the extent they are, they're allowing it to happen, including Donald Trump. He believes in it. He is going to give it free rein and let the market determine.

I believe it's dangerous.

I believe it is going to create a society.

that we are not proud of and undermine the values and our fundamental.

cultural.

More race.

And frankly.

It could create an environment that is extremely destructive.

Number four, Charlie Kirk's assassination.

You know, it's incredible.

He reached out and touched so many people.

And he's not even mentioned on the list of those who passed away this past year. On the number of the lists. Liberal outposts. But the number of the lists.

his death is going to have reverberations for quite a long time.

Hey, got a cough here.

It is winter in Minnesota.

Number five.

The Islamists are on the march. You think that they're gonna crawl back under their rock of immorality and death and destruction.

No, they're not. They're on the march. And their intent is to change our culture.

That is the intent. Don't be mistaken about it. They say it. They don't hide it.

and now they're being allowed to reconstitute themselves, rearm themselves.

It's horrific. That's what it is.

So many people have died in Gaza, Jews in Israel.

atrocities committed.

and there's not going to be a new paradigm. There's not going to be a change. It's just going to continue the cycle.

Because Israel is not giving up and the Jews are not giving up, nor should they, because they stand for fundamental sound values consistent with our founding principles here.

And the Islamists being allowed to go back on the march and to reconstitute is an enormous mistake, but that's what has happened in 2025.

It was a hostage release in exchange of prisoners, thousand to one virtually.

And that exchange occurred, ending the nightmare.

That was a big deal. No question about it, and a list like this could not be complete without it in the top 10.

Number seven, there was a massacre of Jews, lest you forget, beyond Gaza.

Gaza, the massacre cheered on by those in Europe, cheered on by American allies, cheered on by those in the United States, those at institutions of higher learning. And when you cheer on, and the mob,

coalesces behind this sort of hate.

Bad things happen. And in 2025, they did. Particularly if you reward death and destruction. If you reward Islamists.

philosophy.

moral bankruptcy. You reward it, you're going to get more of it. You're going to get a massacre of Jews in Australia.

That happened. And we should not forget. In large part, because of the way the West has responded, the West acting like we are not in a war of civilizations, which we are. We either win or lose. It's not like, we get along, we learn how to, no. The denazification of Germany occurred after World War II.

and the same type must occur in Gaza, in the Palestinian territories everywhere.

in Syria and Lebanon.

in Iran, in Turkey, with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Number eight, bombing of Iran, nuclear weapons. Who'd have thunk how many years have they been talking about? We may need to bomb Iran. Donald Trump did it.

Iranian clerics didn't think he would. Now they have announced war in 2025 on the United States.

And number nine, the West and our moral compass is on the decline. It's retreating.

And finally, number 10, it has become popular in 2025 to be anti-Israel. It was previously, but not like it is now. Popular to be anti-Jewish. This has been a year where the world's moral compass was off. Let's try to bring it back in 2026.

Thank you for joining us on the Andrew Parker show. Go to theandrewparkershow.com.

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