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

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of force.

But after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

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

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between government and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad