The America Under Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.

However over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America isn't a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed the US 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, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad