The America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

However in the year after the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit 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 settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad