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

As Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

But over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more 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 free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad