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

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s public library.

But over the past year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears as if America is being pulled in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions 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 the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.

However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something observed in the East now as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”

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

On Monday, the US government announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

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

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad