The America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from the East

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.

But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

But since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

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

On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad