Trump's United States Under the New Administration Seems Strangely Familiar to Observers from the East

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she is not just thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it's not recorded for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I openly disparage authorities … I believe it's a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

However in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in the US which numerous individuals from China, or those with experience in the country, perceive as eerily familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Ever since Trump initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

But after the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

The most profound parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled China because of pressure from officials.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people across the US – who were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from online peers, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears parallels with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she said, adding that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. 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, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, at least in private, 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 after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”

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

Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers vital to the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or reversed numerous presidential measures, an action that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America could descend into the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I actually feel more comfortable criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad