The United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

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

Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.

However since the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, 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 … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America 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 the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad