The United States Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed US politics through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse 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, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad