As 2023 comes to a close, the world will move on from a year that was dominated by unprecedented political moves, seemingly endless criminal trials, and, worst of all, unthinkable tragedy. But while many people are happy to move on from the stories that dominated headlines and ran non-stop on cable news, history books will come back to dwell on the news that got our attention in 2023.
Here are the biggest stories from 2023 that future generations are most likely to return to:
Trump Indictments
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The 2023 news cycle was dominated by the unprecedented criminal charges filed against former President Donald Trump as he was hit with four indictments beginning in March.
Trump’s first major legal battle of the year started when he was charged with 34 felony counts regarding his alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Many legal experts shook their heads at the case brought against Trump by New York District Attorney Letitia James as it appeared a stretch to charge Trump with a felony.
Less than three months later, the former president was indicted by a grand jury in Florida at the behest of special prosecutor Jack Smith over his handling of classified documents. Thirty-seven more felony charges followed, to which Trump pleaded not guilty.
The next case — this one in Washington, D.C., and also involving special counsel Jack Smith — saw Trump hit with four felonies for allegedly trying to interfere in the 2020 election and his alleged role in the January 6 Capitol riot.
Just two weeks after the federal charges in the election interference case, Trump was indicted in Georgia on 13 state-level felonies which included charges of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) for his alleged effort to reverse the results of the state’s election in 2020. The Georgia RICO case against Trump has wound up being the most sensational of them all, resulting in the mugshot of a former president that quickly went viral on social media and was shown countless times by dozens of legacy media outlets.
Trump has maintained his innocence throughout each of his criminal trials, saying he’s being targeted by a corrupt Biden administration and attention-seeking leftist prosecutors and judges. Despite the charges and allegations, the former president’s standing with his followers remains unshaken.
Democrats fear Trump will gain even more momentum following a controversial decision by the Colorado Supreme Court barring him from the state’s ballot. Whether the ruling stands will be seen in the coming weeks, but so far, it has only strengthened Trump’s standing as an unfairly targeted political opponent of the current Democratic administration.
Chinese Spy Balloons
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China caused a stir with many provocative actions in 2023, but nothing generated more attention than when in February, a Chinese spy balloon crossed most of the mainland U.S. The balloon, which could be manually steered and capture high-resolution images, flew above sensitive military locations before it was finally shot down over the Atlantic Ocean by a U.S. military jet. After the balloon was discovered and the American public became aware of it, the Chinese government claimed it was nothing more than a weather balloon that drifted off course and somehow ended up over mainland America.
No one, including the Biden administration, bought the communists’ reasoning, especially after it was revealed that another Chinese spy balloon had been discovered hovering over the U.S. and that at least one of the balloons passed over sensitive sites important to U.S. national security, according to the State Department.
The spy balloon incident turned into a political debacle for President Joe Biden whose apparent inaction to take down the spy balloons before they trekked across much of the U.S. caused lawmakers and voters to question his ability as commander-in-chief.
“What began as a spy balloon has become a trial balloon, testing President Biden’s strength and resolve. And unfortunately, the president failed that test. And that’s dangerous for the American people. The president was paralyzed for an entire week by a balloon,” Sen Tom Cotton (R-AR) said at the time. “We should have shot this balloon down over the Aleutian Islands. We should have never allowed it to transit the entire continental United States. And I think there’s a lot of open questions that the administration needs to answer to Congress on behalf of the American people about why they didn’t.”
Nashville Christian School Shooting
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On March 27, a trans-identifying shooter blasted her way into Covenant School in Nashville and killed three students and three staff members at the Presbyterian school before she was taken out by quick-responding Metro Nashville police officers. The shooting rocked the community, which came together to support the victims and the families of those who lost their lives. Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, all 9-years-old along with Katherine Koonce, 60, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Mike Hill, 61, all lost their lives on that tragic day in March.
The aftermath of the shooting, however, created controversy as some parents of Covenant School students filed a motion to keep the shooter’s writings from going public. The Metro Nashville Police Department has so far refused to release the shooter’s manifesto and other writings that reportedly reveal more information on the killer’s motive for carrying out the attack even after after Chief John Drake promised in the immediate aftermath of the shooting to make the manifesto public “soon.”
After nine months and numerous attempts by news outlets, including The Daily Wire, to obtain the manifesto and shine more light on the shooting that targeted a Christian school, much of the writings remain a secret to the public. Three pages of the shooter’s diary were obtained by podcaster Steven Crowder last month showing that the trans-identifying white shooter decried “white privilege” and referred to children she targeted as “crackers.”
January 6 Convictions And Revelations
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More than two years after the riot at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, the Department of Justice revealed that it charged more than 1,000 people from all 50 states with crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than half of those charged pleaded guilty to “a variety of federal charges” and will face prison time, the DOJ announced in July.
The harshest sentence was handed down to former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, who wasn’t present at the Capitol Riot but was found guilty of seditious conspiracy by a federal jury in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors argued that Tarrio was a leader and not a foot soldier, calling him “intelligent, charming, creative, and articulate” and claiming that he used those talents to “inflame and radicalize an untold number of followers.” Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and two of his former fellow Proud Boys members were hit with 17- and 18-year sentences.
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The convictions did not come without controversy, especially after thousands of hours of footage from the Capitol breach were released to the public by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) last month with some of the footage from inside the building showing groups of people peacefully walking by police. More speculation about the events of January 6 arose in September when a former senior FBI official told the House that the bureau lost track of how many informants and other sources were involved in the January 6 U.S. Capitol breach, forcing the FBI to conduct an audit.
“This new information is extremely concerning,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote in the letter. “It suggests that the FBI cannot adequately track the activities and operations of its informants, and that it lost control of its CHSs present at the Capitol on January 6.”
“These revelations reinforce existing concerns, identified by Special Counsel Durham, about the FBI’s use of, and payment to, CHSs who have fabricated evidence and misrepresented information,” he added.
McCarthy Speaker Battle
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The past year proved to be a rollercoaster for many people, but none more so than Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The congressman became the clear favorite to take the speaker’s gavel after Republicans gained control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections, but it would take discussion, debate, controversy, and ultimately 15 rounds of voting before enough Republicans agreed to make McCarthy the speaker on January 7.
McCarthy’s leadership over the House was short-lived, however, as he became the first speaker in U.S. history to be ousted from his position. The historic move in October was sparked after one of McCarthy’s biggest GOP critics, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), filed a resolution to unseat him. Gaetz’s move was made possible by concessions McCarthy made in January to convince hardline conservatives to vote for him. Among the deals McCarthy negotiated with Gaetz and other conservative Republicans was a one-vote threshold required to begin the process of removing McCarthy as speaker.
Gaetz and other Republicans were upset with McCarthy over what they viewed as him caving to pressure from Democrats and the Biden administration to continue sending billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. After a 216-210 vote, which included eight Republicans and 208 Democrats voting in favor of removing McCarthy, the speaker was ousted.
After more drama in the Republican-led House over the next few weeks, the party finally came together to elect Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as its new speaker. McCarthy, who for nine months was the most powerful politician in the House, announced earlier this month that he will retire from Congress altogether at the end of the year.
Biden Impeachment Inquiry
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On September 12, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, focusing on his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, which the president has been accused of benefiting from. Then on December 13, the House took the next step in the impeachment process, formally voting to authorize the impeachment inquiry of Biden, which gives Republicans more legal weight to enforce subpoenas.
The president has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and stated that his son’s business dealings have remained just that: business that Hunter conducts personally with no interference from his powerful father. Republicans, however, believe they have evidence implicating Biden in the deals and showing that he potentially used his position as senator and then vice president to strong-arm foreign companies into deals that helped his son and his brother, James Biden, make millions of dollars.
According to the House Oversight Committee, the president has lied at least 16 times about not talking to Hunter about his business dealings. Evidence presented by the committee revealed that Biden “dined, and had coffee with Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates.”
“The FBI’s recorded interview with Rob Walker, a Biden family associate, also reveals Joe Biden attended a meeting about CEFC, a Chinese entity. Additionally, Hunter Biden alleged his father was in the room when he demanded payment from a CEFC associate,” the Oversight Committee added.
During a debate against former President Donald Trump before the 2020 election, Biden also famously stated that Hunter has not made any money from China, but a bank records memorandum revealed by the House Oversight Committee showed that Hunter Biden, James Biden, Hallie Biden, and an unknown Biden received over $1.3 million from a Chinese company.
As the Biden impeachment inquiry moves forward, some Republicans remain unconvinced that the Oversight Committee has enough evidence to support an impeachment proceeding, and Democrats say the inquiry into Biden is a “sham.”
Hunter Biden Charges
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Along with Republicans looking into Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals, the president’s son also got into legal trouble in 2023 when he was indicted in September on multiple gun charges. — three crimes related to false statements made on a federal application to purchase a firearm.
Then in December, Hunter was hit with nine additional criminal charges related to a federal investigation into his taxes.
“The Defendant engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019,” prosecutors said in court documents, adding that he “willfully failed” to pay the owed taxes “despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes.”
Hamas Attack On Israel
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The most horrific tragedy of the year began in the early morning hours of the Sabbath on October 7 when Israel faced the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust as thousands of Hamas terrorists crossed Israel’s borders on foot and in paragliders. The terrorists filmed their attack as they burned innocent Israeli homes to the ground with families still inside, raped women, and even beheaded babies.
The attack initially outraged much of the world and sparked a furious response from Israel, which immediately bombed Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and eventually launched a ground operation to root out the terrorists from within Gaza.
Along with killing 1,200 people in its attack on Israel, Hamas also kidnaped hundreds of people, including women and children, many of whom remain held hostage in the Gaza Strip. As Israel continues its operation to destroy Hamas and defend its citizens, the country faces pressure from the international community to agree to a ceasefire with the terrorists. Hamas ignored a temporary ceasefire late last month when terrorists opened fire on Israelis at a bus stop near Jerusalem, murdering four people, including a pregnant woman.
Rise Of Anti-Semitism
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Following the terrorist attack on Israel, Jews around the world have been subject to increased anti-Semitic threats and attacks. In Europe, Jewish homes have been marked with the Star of David in anti-Semitic acts reminiscent of 1930s Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, anti-Israel and pro-Hamas rallies in the U.K. and Australia have attracted tens of thousands with some of the rallies seeing terrorist sympathizers chant genocidal threats against Israel such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” “F*** the Jews,” and “gas the Jews.”
Anti-Semitism exploded in the U.S. as well after Hamas’ attack. American college campuses become hotbeds of terrorist sympathizers, causing Jewish students and faculty to fear for their safety. Elite American universities such as Harvard, Columbia, UPenn, MIT, and Stanford have seen blatant anti-Semitism on their campuses. The problem became so prevalent that the presidents of Harvard, UPenn, and MIT were grilled before Congress on the troubling rise of anti-Semitism on their campuses.
After making disturbing comments at the Congressional hearing, UPenn President Liz Magill resigned from her position while facing increasing backlash for saying that calling for the genocide of Jews would only violate the school’s code of conduct on bullying and harassment if “the speech turns into conduct.”
Harvard President Claudine Gay also faced calls to resign for her remarks on anti-Semitism before Congress. Bill Ackman, a Harvard alumnus and major donor to the university, called for Gay to resign after she said that calling for the genocide of Jews needs “context” to determine if it went against school policies.