Fox Nation rewinds defining moments of 2025 in 'Who Can Forget?' year-end special
Fox Nation special reviews year that saw Pope Leo XIV become first US pontiff and Operation Midnight Hammer target Iran
By
Taylor PenleyFox NewsPublished
December 31, 2025 1:54pm ESTclose
Video'Who Can Forget 2025?': Fox Nation remembers roller coaster year in politics, culture and more
Fox Nation's 'Who Can Forget 2025?' follows the year's most defining events, from President Donald Trump's executive orders to the Sydney Sweeney jeans controversy.
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A politically motivated assassination shocked the world. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House reshaped the nation. White smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney as the papal conclave elected its first American pontiff. A blue-jeans ad dominated headlines. Rock icons Ozzy Osbourne and Ace Frehley died.
As 2025 draws to a close, Fox Nation looks back at a year that defied expectations and redefined history with "Who Can Forget 2025?" airing Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel and streaming on the Fox Nation platform.
The special episode follows in the footsteps of those from years prior, bringing in FOX talent – Joe Concha, Abby Hornacek, Griff Jenkins, David Asman and more – to discuss events that defined the midpoint of the decade.
"We've never had an American pope," Hornacek said during the program. The historic milestone came with Pope Leo XIV's appointment as the new pontiff on May 8, following Pope Francis' death in late April.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks after casting his vote for the presidential runoff election on July 5, 2024, in Tehran, Iran (far left); Sydney Sweeney is seen walking in Midtown on Dec. 11, 2023, in New York City (center left); President Donald Trump leaves after delivering a speech during the APEC CEO Summit on Oct. 29, in Gyeongju, South Korea (center right); Pope Leo XIV waves to the faithful during the Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost at St. Peter's Square on June 8, in Vatican City, Vatican (far right). (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images; Raymond Hall/GC Images; Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images; Elisabetta Trevisan/Vatican Media/Getty Images)
The Chicagoan brought a touch of the Midwest to the Vatican, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the Catholic Church and one of the most unexpected developments of the year.
Changes also abounded in the political realm. Trump made history by becoming the second chief executive to hold two non-consecutive terms with his return to the White House on Jan. 20 and changed the nation's trajectory with a flurry of executive actions on day one and beyond.
As Fox News contributor David Webb mentioned in the special, one key history-altering development rose under the Trump administration in June, when U.S. forces attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran under the code name "Operation Midnight Hammer."
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President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a rally on Inauguration Day of Trump's second presidential term in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2025. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
"[It] absolutely set Iran's nuclear program back by years," Webb said. The incident preceded a series of other foreign policy developments – a ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas, pushes for the Russia-Ukraine war to end and strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug boats, among others.
Culture, politics and entertainment melded at times. FOX Business' Cheryl Casone pointed to Sydney Sweeney's infamous American Eagle jeans ad, which riled progressives for allegedly carrying racially charged implications with its wordplay on "jeans" and "genes."
"Sydney Sweeney made jeans great again," Casone said.
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VideoAdd to the mix Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement, Swift's "Life of a Showgirl" album drop, the Labubu craze and a nonstop stream of viral trends that helped define 2025.
To watch the 2025 installment of "Who Can Forget?" tune in to the Fox News Channel on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET and subscribe to Fox Nation to stream the program on the platform at your leisure.
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
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