Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from China

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it seems that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, who are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad