Trump's United States During the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Observers from the East

As the standup comedian, a rising performer, takes the stage in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring New York’s library system.

But over the past year since the president returned to office again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, find eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president 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 economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of force.

But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Less Bright’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in the United States – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in the East now as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.

Recently, authorities stated it would become an investor in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it would remain more free, more open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad