Trump's United States Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from the East

As the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly material where I openly disparage the government … I believe it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

However over the past year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”

Since the administration initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.

But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously seems recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

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

Recently, the US government announced it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors concerned that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad