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

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

However over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, while here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to marginalize or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in China now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors concerned that America is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad