Trump’s First Year Back: What Stood Out

December 18, 2025

Podcast Deep Dish on Global Affairs Podcast

President Donald Trump’s first year back in office changed the tone of US foreign policy. We look back at the moments that stood out.

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About the Episode

The past year has made one thing clear: this version of Trump on the world stage is different. From the Caribbean to Europe to America’s own institutions, familiar rules don’t feel so fixed anymore. The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland looks back at the moments that defined Trump’s year so far and why the next one could be even more dramatic.

About the Speakers

Jonathan Freedland

Journalist, The Guardian, Broadcaster, BBC Radio 4

Jonathan Freedland is an award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster. Freedland writes a weekly column for the Guardian and is the presenter of BBC Radio 4's contemporary history series, The Long View. Freedland is also the author with his most recent book published titled, "The Traitors Circle: The True Story of a Secret Resistance Network in Nazi Germany―and the Spy Who Betrayed Them."

Leslie Vinjamuri

President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She brings nearly 30 years of experience working at the intersection of international affairs, research, policy, and public engagement.

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