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

As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when 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 this is a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

But in the year after the president was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“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, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad