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

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

However in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad