The America During Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

However over the past year after the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning 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 speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad