Trump's United States Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Familiar to Observers from the East

As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

However in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.

But since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and the East 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’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

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

Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad