Trump's America Under Trump's Second Term Feels Oddly Familiar to Observers from China

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I believe 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 relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

However over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by America, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad