The America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

But over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”

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

Recently, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad