Trump's United States Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, 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 young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

But after the upheaval of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in the East now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

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

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's purchase of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad