The United States Under Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

However in the year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled China because of pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”

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

Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad