Trump's United States During the New Administration Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in China, perceive as eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with China may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in China's path, instead of the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between the US today and China is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He has lived in America for several years, having fled China because of pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad