Trump's United States During Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from China

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city'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 environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears 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 America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad