The United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Familiar to Observers from the East

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”

Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad