Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from the East

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

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

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad