Trump's America During the New Administration Seems Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

However over the past year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the grassroots to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of events in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of violence.

But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration subsided, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled the country because of pressure from officials.

In September, following the passing of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.

“In terms of going after dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to the US for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it will take an investor in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. The deals have made some investors nervous that the US is embarking on a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, 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 American colleges yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the government, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad