Trump's America During Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, 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 America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad