The United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from the East

As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year since Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined 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, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.

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

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to 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 suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad