Trump's United States During the New Administration Feels Strangely Familiar to Those Watching from the East

As Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to tell. She also weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

However in the year after the president was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, whereas here I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her fears reflect a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

But after the turmoil of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng has lived in America since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring bears parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “This is observed in the East today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in America of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

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

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions that were once associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on bilateral matters declined to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad