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| Marjorie Taylor Greene with Donald Trump before their feud (Image: NBC News) |
When we ended 2024, many political reporters and commentators expected that the 12 months to follow would be turbulent. A handful remained hopeful, but others, myself included, feared that global politics was going to be crazier than ever before. And, oh boy, haven't we all got whip lash today.
Of course, the vast majority of the drama has occurred thanks to the antics seen in the United States. I say 'of course', because when Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the presidential race in November 2024, commentators from all sides of the political spectrum braced themselves - some were naturally excited, others incredibly nervous. I sensed he was on a revenge mission, and he certainly has kept to that.
In fact, he's gone above and beyond. Internally, he's hardened US's borders, so anyone from much of Africa, the Middle East and nations like Laos and Tonga (I mean, what did they do?) have severe restrictions in entering the 'free world.' He has also pardoned people and groups who, under any other circumstance, definitely would not have been handed a 'get out of jail free card', such as the 1,500 individuals convicted for playing a part in the January 6 riot. He has also threatened universities and media outlets because their free speech cost a lot of money, particularly if they appear to challenge his point of view. We Brits thought the BBC was in trouble, try ABC and The Wall Street Journal, Harvard and Princeton Universities.
And to top it off, he has taken security clearances off the likes of his predecessor Joe Biden and former Vice-President Kamala Harris. Now, some may feel they should pay for their own, but with the hostile route America is headed towards right now, they need good level of protection that goes beyond their budget. If he carries on putting political lives at risk, Charlie Kirk will not be the only political figure killed during this presidential term.
I could go on with Trump's home affairs antics, but I'd be writing a book as thick as the Bible. We thought the above was bad though, internationally, things were worse. Trump claims to have "ended eight wars," but in reality, he hadn't stopped any. One or two leaders of the countries he lists are said to be sincerely thankful for the President for his role in their respective negotiations - and this, for balance, should not be left unnoticed. However, seeing this from a realistic perspective, all of us, Trump included, know why these conflicts have paused at the very least. He has openly admitted his threats of tariffs have scared them to signing any 'peace deal,' enabling their economies stay afloat. But we all know that the moment he takes his eye of the ball, these conflicts will only return. We're seeing signs of it already, with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo exchanging blows in recent weeks.
Elsewhere on that list of "wars he ended," Israel and Palestine are also still fighting, despite the ceasefire. According to Amnesty International, Israel's government continues to bombard Gaza. The Gaza Government Media Office in November suggested that the ceasefire agreement was broken "497 times in 44 days." The subsequent celebration of 'peace' between both nations held in Egypt six weeks previous was utterly meaningless. And when he claims to have "ended Israel and Iran's conflict" in June, remember that he encouraged it, as a way of crippling Iran's nuclear ambitions. It put a small dent for sure, but speculation about whether these ambitions will result in the development of a bomb hasn't gone away.
There is one conflict which Trump hasn't managed to end, despite saying he would do "within 24 hours of being in power" - Ukraine and Russia. Now entering its fifth year - having officially started in February 2022 (if we're excluding the annexation of Crimea eight years previous) - contrary to his beliefs, the end isn't in sight. His schmoozing with Russia's Vladimir Putin in August was a stark contrast to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy's rollercoaster of a relationship with the US President, which ranged from a shouting match captured live on news networks around the world in February to a more settled meeting when accompanied with European leaders in August. As I am writing this, another in-person meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy has taken place in Florida, with very few signs of genuine progress.
What happens to Ukraine and Russia in 2026 is anyone's guess. All we know is that neither Putin nor Zelenskyy are budging in what they want. They both want completely different things and, I dare say, are rather unrealistic, but their positions are understandable given the fact that Trump is trying to orchestrate a deal to please neither. Sadly, the more influential European leaders aren't helping by blindly supporting Ukraine when we know Putin is flexing his military muscle more because of this. His ambition for more land grabbing and sovereign power goes well beyond what we're being told. It's important for Europe to be ahead of the game and keep Russia at arm's length rather than pushing them completely away. I don't want to give Trump credit because he's gotten a little too friendly with Putin, however, opening a line of communication with Moscow, without total hostility, is the best way forward for peace.
Putin won't be leader forever. And when we're close to knowing a regime change is upon us, the US and Europe need to work together and prepare for the next steps. Providing my two pence worth, I don't believe the next Russian President will want to pursue this war - just like Adolf Hitler's and Benito Mussolini's successors in Germany and Italy respectively were a push away from fascism. Identifying Putin's successor will be vital for Ukraine's peace. To grab hold of this opportunity, however, Trump will need to tone down on his verbal attacks to Europe, repeatedly calling its countries "decaying" and leaders "weak" on the economy and immigration.
Trump's international focus has not been met so well in the States. Conservative commentators are intensely debating whether his approach has helped or hampered their country's prospects. The main consensus is that he's not met the expectations of his core fan base. Tucker Carlson, for example, formerly of Fox News and is considered one of the main cheerleaders of Trump's "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" movement, has been particularly brazen with his attacks on the White House's approach to Israel.
But Carlson isn't going to get my vote as 'Person of the Year.' Other than Israel, he's still pretty much on the MAGA gravy train. Yet, with cracks like that starting to show, it's clear that Trump will find 2026 to be an incredibly tough year. The midterm elections this coming November will damage him and the Republican Party, if polls are to be believed. It will take a significant voting shift for the congress to move from Republican to Democrat control, however, this is still a strong possibility.
Other than his global focus, one of the main controversies Trump hasn't been able to fully dismiss - which has given MAGA supporters a sour taste in their mouths - is his links to disgraced socialite Jeffrey Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who were separately convicted of countless sexual assault charges. He died in 2019, but Maxwell is seeking an early prison release and Trump hasn't confirmed either way as to whether he would grant her wish. And with the so-called 'Epstein Files' consistently showing his strong links to the pair, his further dismissal of these legal claims could hurt him in the coming months.
One of the people who has tirelessly campaigned to ensure the 'Epstein Files' are out and that the women get the justice they truly desire and deserve is Marjorie Taylor Greene who, for me, gets my coveted (ahem) 'Person of the Year' award (sorry, 'Architects of AI,' who won TIME Magazine's).
If you asked me a year ago who Greene was, I would have failed to answer. Back then, she was a MAGA loyalist, radicalised to believe that Trump would 'put America first,' and that isolationism was key to US's success. Fast forward to today, she has become a more effective government opponent than the Democrat Party. She has finally seen how 'America First' is truly 'Trump only,' resulting in rising grocery prices, healthcare becoming even more unaffordable and that he seems to care more about the renovation of the White House ballroom than the poverty millions of Americans are facing under his leadership. The tariffs are certainly not helping, with imports and manufacturing in decline.
Greene has been very open about her journey of reawakening, which has included publicly apologising for her previous trolling and threatening language towards opposing views and journalists. She has also spoken of her "regret" for sharing damaging conspiracy theories. We can cry all we want about the fact she shouldn't have supported him in the first place. However, we'd be saying that to 77.3 million others who voted for him last year. Like with any dictator - which I believe Trump to be - they pull disenfranchised voters' heartstrings, saying they can 'defeat the establishment' and then create an even worse form of establishment.
It took Germany more than 10 years in the 1930s and 40s to get rid of their dictator, Italy 20 years and Spain even longer again under General Francisco Franco. America is learning and Greene is leading the way. She has learnt the battle is tough - Trump has already called her a "traitor" and denied her security detail, despite her and her family receiving "773 death threats." She will no longer be a congresswoman for Georgia from January, in which I sincerely hope it means she can use her new platform to inspire real change, and continue her path towards rehabilitation away from toxic politics. She'll need tangible backing, and I wouldn't rule her out of making deals with Democrats and independents to achieve this. One hopes she isn't deterred by the thuggery she's faced in recent months.
Greene has become an unlikely light to what has been a bleak 2025 for the United States. In 2026, it is important that key political figures say, boldly, that they've had enough of self-centred leaders who are only making themselves better off and are emulating Dr Evil from the Austin Powers film series. The global healing starts now.
JSPrice Perception 'Person of the Year' - previous 'recipients':
- 2024: Elon Musk
- 2023: Saudi Arabia
- 2022: Martin Lewis
- 2021: Jackie Weaver
- 2020: recurrent TV programmes
- 2019: Colleen Rooney and Dominic Grieve
- 2018: Declan Donnelly
- 2017: Meghan Markle
- 2016: Selection including Tim Peake
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