The America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from the East

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

But in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

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

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad