Trump's United States Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Familiar to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens 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 as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse 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 sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad