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

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.

But over the past year since Donald Trump returned to office for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find eerily similar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. Following years of optimism in the US that improved relations with China may help the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems that the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to sideline or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed 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 China's historical period. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent the same levels of violence.

However since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced 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 such a thing could happen in the United States – something that should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. However, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”

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

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted comparisons with the East, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government stated it would become an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad