The America Under Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of force.

However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US for several years, having fled China because of pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad