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

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.

However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

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

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad