The America During Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Familiar to Observers from the East

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of force.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America 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 China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad