Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.

But in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of force.

But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”

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

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad