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

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.

However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without 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 settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused 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,” he commented.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for 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.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is 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 its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. 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 in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad