Trump's America During Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.

But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

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

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad