Trump's America During Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

But over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a 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 appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in private industry.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad