Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

But in the year after the president returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of violence.

But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

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

Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad