This is part two of a two-part series reviewing what we wrote in 2025. To read part one, click here.
Executive Editor Isaac Saul: In June, protests broke out in Los Angeles, California, over the Trump administration’s immigration actions, leading to violent confrontations with federal and local law enforcement. In response, President Trump mobilized 2,000 National Guard troops to the city over the objections of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). In the 10th of my 11 thoughts I offered on the protests, I asked:
Are we starting to see the first signs of buyer’s remorse? In South Florida, some elected Republicans are starting to speak out against the Trump administration’s deportation actions. The cofounder of Latinas for Trump said “this is not what we voted for,” calling the president’s actions “inhumane.” Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) issued a lengthy statement criticizing the deportation of people with pending asylum cases, asking the administration to focus on criminals (but not the people in her district who fled violence to come to south Florida).
Reflection: Overall, I think I saw the ball clearly and nailed several key points:
- President Trump’s deportation policy made confrontation between protesters and federal law enforcement inevitable.
- Trump sought out the opportunity to deploy the National Guard.
- The Trump administration’s vow to prioritize unauthorized migrants with criminal records doesn’t square with ICE targeting people at their jobs or immigration hearings, as they have done in Los Angeles and elsewhere.
- Law enforcement was justified in some of its responses, like clearing streets that protesters had blocked off and arresting those who were rioting.
- The imagery coming from the protests — people waving Mexican flags, standing on top of burning vehicles, and vandalizing storefronts — would overshadow the protesters’ message.
- Trump’s claim that Los Angeles was in an all-out crisis was overblown.
- It was hypocritical for many government skeptics on the right not to object to masked, unnamed federal agents raiding homes, workplaces, and immigration centers to arrest and deport people.
- Trump’s aggressive immigration actions exposed some cracks in his coalition.
The National Guard deployment is an ongoing saga, but it seems to be wrapping up in California: Last week, an appeals court ordered Trump to return control of the Guard to Gov. Newsom, and the president said he would end the deployments to Los Angeles (as well as Chicago and Portland). I may have slightly overstated how impactful these protests and the Guard deployment would end up being, but on the whole, my analysis tracked closely with how this story played out over subsequent months.
Grade: A
Executive Editor Isaac Saul: In late June, President Trump announced that the United States had carried out airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran. Trump described the mission as a very successful attack and said that the administration was now engaging in peace talks with Iran and Israel. In my take, I questioned how badly the facilities had actually been damaged, criticized Vice President Vance for claiming this engagement would be brief, and questioned the talking point that we weren’t at war with Iran. At the same time, I was also very skeptical of the worst-case scenarios (i.e., World War III breaking out):
