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

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she is not only considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she stated. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in that year. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s public library.

However over the past year after Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s fears mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or undermine established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, albeit absent the same levels of force.

However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in America since 2019, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears parallels with the East.

“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of pupils informing against teachers, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

“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, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, authorities appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

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

Recently, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have left certain stakeholders nervous that America is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and China. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or reversed many of presidential measures, something that is impossible in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad