Trump's United States During the New Administration Feels Oddly Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers what subjects to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the administration,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I'd never publish openly material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, thirty-nine, lived in Shanghai for almost a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into the city's library system.

However in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Wang’s concerns reflect a new political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily similar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different political systems became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots to marginalize or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in China decades past.”

Since the administration initiated what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.

However after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, distinct type of climate has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels familiar to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a Chinese Communist party critic, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China now as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

The professor, the legal expert, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has declined generally.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about 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, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and business is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed essential for national security. These moves have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States might face its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor observes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures that were once associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad