Trump's America During the New Administration Seems Oddly Familiar to Those Watching from the East

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe it's a habit from China.”

Wang, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to talks, protests, and exploring the city's public library.

However in the year after the president returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or people who have lived in China, perceive as eerily similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He's called him as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of countries with diametrically opposed political systems became clear. And after decades of hope in America that improved relations with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Ever since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without the same levels of violence.

But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned CCP critic, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in China. He resided in America since 2019, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom lost their jobs for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but that kind of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“Regarding targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in China is risky. But now, “The US is no longer some kind of god for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and developing electric cars and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, seems to be declining.”

The Trump administration’s purchase of stakes in American firms has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.

Recently, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies it considers essential for national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that required they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang observes that although many intellectuals in the country were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned inherently. Administrators, who are appointed by the government, “cannot refuse. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to adopt measures that were once confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad