The United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

However over the past year after the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.

However since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

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

His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad