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

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, 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 official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad