The United States Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Familiar to Observers from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

However over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. 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 was evident. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations 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 a repressive state,” Deng said.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, 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 more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad