Trump's America During Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

However in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems that America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.

But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country due to pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in China today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America isn't a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned 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, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad