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

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.

But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.

But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad