Trump's United States Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Observers from the East

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

But over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China half a century ago.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.

But after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, found himself in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US for several years, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined across the board.”

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

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have blocked or reversed many of presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain freer, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad