Trump's United States Under the New Administration Feels Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only considering what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share content where I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

But in the year since Donald Trump was elected 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'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, numerous Chinese observers have viewed American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.

But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the crackdown on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing would occur in America – what should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined across the board.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear in decline.”

The government's purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with China, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on campus, in China, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad