Trump's United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring 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 domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad