Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from China

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of force.

However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came 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 an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad