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

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

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

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

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

On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad