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

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US 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 president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.

But since the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China now as too,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a god 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”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals 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 by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad