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

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”

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

Recently, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad