The America During Trump's Second Term Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from the East

As the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

But over the past year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she says. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands 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 both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that closer ties with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, 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. Whether it is the rallying of young people to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of force.

However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

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

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance bears similarities with China.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she said, stating 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, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

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

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in US companies has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad