Trump's United States Under Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from China

As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share content where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.

However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears mirror a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad