The America During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

However over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her fears mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

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

On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, 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 more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad