Trump's America During the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

As Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in openly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

However over the past year after the president was elected for the second time, there's been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect an emerging political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country decades past.”

Since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to carry out the leader’s will, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

However after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, having fled the country due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with China.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in US companies has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that required they only report on government-authorised news. US courts have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are selected by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad