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

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not just considering what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.

But in the year since the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of force.

But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

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

“Regarding going after dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that required reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad