Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Familiar to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of violence.

However after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. 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 pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad