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

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there's 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.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.

But since the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to harassment from the authorities.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing 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, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in American firms has prompted comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved news. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous presidential measures, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions 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 stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad