The America Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.

But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad