Trump's United States Under 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 New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. 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 the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

But in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad