Trump's United States Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from China

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

But over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears mirror a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked 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 the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash came from online peers, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for national security. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad