The Bible famously advises us that “with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” From an earthly perspective, as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once intoned, a week is a long time in politics. Events can and often do disrupt and overtake standing narratives in the twinkling of an eye. That is why forecasting what will happen over an entire year is generally a fool’s errand. So, rather than throwing out madcap predictions for 2026 designed to titillate the senses, which we will leave to those clever clairvoyant psychics, let’s focus on events that are foreseeable in the upcoming year.
A Quarter Millennium of America
The country will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence leading up to and beyond July 4. But to whose benefit will it accrue? If you know anything about Donald Trump — is there anyone who doesn’t by now? — you can confidently predict that he will place himself squarely in the center of celebrations across the land. Much like Ronald Reagan commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty with tall ships, spectacular fireworks, and a memorable speech on “Liberty Weekend” in 1986, the 47th president will surely wrap himself in the flag, hoping the likely surge of patriotism will benefit his Republican Party in November’s midterm elections.
Ah, yes, the midterms. In this bitterly divided country, what will the final division of power look like once the smoke clears and 468 seats in Congress have been secured? Of course, much will depend on the state of the economy. As is his wont, the president has set an astronomically high bar for 2026, proclaiming that we will be entering “the golden age of America.” But history has rarely been kind to the party that won the presidency two years earlier. In the 21st century, only in the congressional elections of 2002, one year after 9/11, has either party that won the White House gained seats 24 months after winning the presidency.
Midterm elections are largely driven by the grievances of the out-party and the energy thus generated to show up and vote. And despite their lowest approval this century, Democrats will still be the morning-line favorites to capture the House, where the GOP currently holds a razor-thin advantage. In the six midterms of the 21st century, the out-party has gained an average of 31 seats. The Senate, where Republicans hold a three-seat advantage and the tie-breaking vote of Vice President JD Vance, presents a far more daunting task for Democrats. But given that President Trump has driven them to the point of derangement, one suspects the Dems will be satisfied enough just to win the House and break up the GOP trifecta.
Maduro Headed for the Door
Next we come to Venezuela. When a US president orders up everything short of a land invasion against a thoroughly corrupt dictatorial regime exporting lethal narcotics to America — blowing up drug boats, seizing oil tankers, forming a full naval blockade, and adding ever more crippling sanctions — what do you expect will come next? Answer: the end of the ruinous regime of Nicolas Maduro. With Trump pressing in by land, sea, and air, it is almost impossible to envision the Venezuelan president surviving the year. The woman overwhelmingly elected president before Maduro discarded the results and clung to power, 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Winner María Corina Machado, is rested, ready, and fully prepared to govern. She will most certainly offer welcome relief from Maduro’s drug-drenched corruption and the unrelenting misery of life under his iron rule — unless she is overwhelmed by residual pro-Maduro resistance.
