Trump's America Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a habit acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for nearly ten years, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's public library.

But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns mirror a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with the East may help the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is attempting to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the US, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy recently, the likes of which he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled China because of harassment from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding going after dissenters and monitoring open discourse on topics deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in the East today as too,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, now perceive it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “the West, exemplified by America, seems to be in decline.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the line between government and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders concerned that America is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I actually feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad