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

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics 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 delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.

However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while 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 publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad