The United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from the East

As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.

But over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of force.

However after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived 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 the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”

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

On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad