Trump's United States During Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from China

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics 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 recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

However over the past year after the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him 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 some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad