The America During Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from China

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly content in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.

But since the turmoil of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the state, but that kind of social surveillance bears parallels with China.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. University leaders, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad