The United States During Trump's Second Term Feels Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not just thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s library system.

However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce 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 America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad