Trump's America During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Recognizable to Observers from China

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publicly share content in which I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect a new climate in America which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration unleashed the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

However since the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping the country due to harassment from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, 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 … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, authorities appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters declined to speak for this piece. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad