The United States Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from the East

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.

However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat 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 tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad