15 Trump Moments That Felt Like a Fever Dream
No, you didn’t make that up. The 2025 nightmare was real.
Anyone who survived the first Trump administration knew the second term would be a wild ride. But the 47th president’s preposterous behavior in 2025 has left even jaded observers of American democracy in a state of shock-and-awe.
Many moments from the past year have had the quality of a fever dream. Like, if someone had predicted them a year ago, you’d have written them off as a loon. But we’re here to share in the burden of having lived through the following 15 Trump events. It wasn’t a collective hallucination. The nightmare was real.
Hawked Teslas at White House
When Elon Musk was facing a consumer boycott over his slash-and-burn tactics as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Trump turned the grounds of the White House into a showcase for Tesla vehicles in March. Trump even purchased one of the cars from the billionaire megadonor whom he’d allowed to co-pilot his early presidency, describing it as an act to counter “Radical Left Lunatics.”
Imposed tariffs on penguins-only islands
In his madcap “Liberation Day” tariff blitz in April, Trump announced a 10 percent levy on the Heard and McDonald islands. This was especially peculiar because the remote, volcanic Antarctic outcroppings have no exports. They are inhabited by penguins, not people.
Auctioned presidential access to memecoin “whales”
Trump has profited off his presidency with shameless zeal. In April, he held a contest in which the 220 top buyers of his meme coin, $TRUMP, would be feted at a presidential dinner, with the 25 top purchasers also receiving VIP access to Trump. Investors and influence-seekers reportedly spent $145 million on the novelty cryptocurrency, with a majority of the top 25 being foreign nationals — spurring congressional calls for a corruption investigation.
Threw himself a tin-pot military parade
Seeking the pomp and trappings of an authoritarian, Trump planned a Kremlin-style military parade for his 79th birthday — claiming the procession was actually honoring the 250th anniversary of the Army. But far from a showcase of military might, the parade proved to be a dinky display of antique planes and squeaky tanks, with little public turnout. (The parade was overshadowed, as intended, by the millions of demonstrators in the No Kings protests the same weekend.)
Nearly flooded California for a photo op
Trump, who is scientifically obtuse, has long believed that California’s waterways function like central plumbing, so that opening a “valve” in Northern California can solve drought and fire risk in SoCal. (He has also touted a mythical Canadian “faucet” with the same function.) Trump is so committed to this fiction that, in the aftermath of the January Los Angeles firestorms, he ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley — which is nowhere near the L.A. Basin. The water was not only unneeded but nearly created a flood. But Trump got what he mattered most to him: visuals of the state’s aqueduct system “brimming with beautiful, clean water.”
Claimed U.N. escalator was “sabotaged”
Arriving to a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September, Trump and the First Lady were riding an escalator that came to a sudden stop. The first couple survived the awkward jolt without incident. But Trump later whinged for days on Truth Social about being the victim of “sabotage” that he claimed had nearly made him fall “face first” on the “sharp edges” of the “steel steps.” Trump called for criminal consequences, but a U.N. inquiry later placed the blame on Trump’s own cameraman, who mistakenly triggered a safety stop at the top of the conveyance.
Held a Great Gatsby party while cutting off food stamps
During the late stages of the government shutdown, Trump and his administration fought to cut tens of millions of Americans off of nutrition assistance, despite having a reserve fund to pay for the November benefits. At the same time, Trump hosted a Roaring Twenties gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Halloween night — where the president, his sycophants, and Palm Beach socialites enjoyed an uncomfortably on-the-nose Great Gatsby-themed soiree.
Vowed to take Greenland by force
Perhaps Trump’s weirdest first-year fixation was his quest to capture Greenland. Trump repeatedly vowed to annex the Arctic territory — by force if necessary. Nevermind that this was in fact a threat of war against a NATO ally (Greenland is part of Denmark); Trump declared the U.S. needs the land for “international security.” He even sent (an oddly gloveless) J.D. Vance to a U.S. military outpost in Greenland to press the case, before his own interest in the icy island faded.
Blamed Tylenol for autism
After tapping anti-vax quack Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as America’s health secretary, Trump picked up one of Kennedy’s own bad habits — inventing causes of autism. Against scientific evidence, Trump spoke out in September linking the neurological condition to Tylenol taken during pregnancy. Trump underscored his ignorance of the matter by being unable to pronounce the generic name of the drug, acetaminophen.
Rebranded the Gulf of Mexico
In a pique of nativist geography, Trump declared in February that the Gulf of Mexico — so named since the 1500s — would now be known as the “Gulf of America.” This was more than the post-9/11 “freedom fries” tomfoolery. Trump’s conviction in the rebranding led him to oust the Associated Press from Oval Office briefings for refusing to follow his naming convention.
Welcomed a “billionaires row” at his inauguration
Setting the stage for his administration’s governance-for-the-highest-bidder, Trump assembled tech billionaires at his inauguration, as if they were a fourth branch of government. These American oligarchs even stood in front of Trump’s own cabinet nominees. The ranks included Musk, naturally, as well as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Apple’s Tim Cook.
Launched a “Gold Card” visa
Trump made good on his promise to make U.S. residence available to the wealthiest, launching in December a Trump Gold Card immigration visa, opening a path to citizenship for foreigners who pony up a $1 million “gift” to the U.S. Treasury. Applications are now available online at the entirely real federal website, Trumpcard.gov, which touts that the president also has a $5 million “Platinum Card” visa — replete with special tax privileges — in development.
Told a reporter: “Quiet Piggy!”
On Air Force One in November, Trump was fielding reporter questions when a female Bloomberg journalist asked about the Epstein Files. Trump — who has never hid his misogyny or lack of decency yet seems to be also losing any filter as he ages — barked at the reporter: “Quiet Piggy!”
Jawboned Canada to join the U.S.
When he wasn’t sparking trade wars with our neighbor to the north, Trump was pressuring Canada to join the U.S. as the “51st state.” Whatever masterplan for North American integration Trump thought he was pursuing backfired spectacularly. Canada rejected its own MAGA-friendly conservatives in national elections, elevating a Trump foe as prime minister.
Crushed on Mamdani
When New York City’s Muslim, socialist mayor-elect visited the White House in
November, Americans expected a clash. What Trump offered instead was a… mancrush? The president came away from his meeting with Zohran Mamdani praising the leadership potential of the man New Yorkers chose to freeze their rents and make buses free. Trump even encouraged Mamdani to stick to his guns when asked by a reporter if he still believed Trump is a fascist. “You can just say, ‘Yes,’” the president counseled as he patted him fondly on the back. “It’s easier than explaining it.”
Tim Dickinson is the Senior Political writer for The Contrarian
Was it only 1 year? It feels like a decade
Nice wrap up of Major Trump stumbles!