Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.

However over the past year after the president returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.

But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

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

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, 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, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad