The United States During Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.

But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. 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”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad