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

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.

However in the year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of force.

However after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree 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. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

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

Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once 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: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad