Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Recognizable to Observers from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she's not just thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, though without the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, after escaping China due to harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against teachers, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is risky. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that America 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, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad