Trump's United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.

However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired 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 divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

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

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad