The United States During Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

But over the past year after the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, 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 mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.

However since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad