The America During Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

As Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

But over the past year after the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.

However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

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

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad