The United States Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad