The America During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

However over the past year since the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.

But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He resided in the US since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares 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 would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad