Trump's United States During Trump's Second Term Seems Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about which jokes to tell. She also carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it's not captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

However over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though absent the same levels of force.

But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced 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 the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are selected 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 confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad