The United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without the same levels of force.

However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad