The America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

However in the year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of force.

However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

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

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad