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

When Vickie Wang, an emerging comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in openly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, leaving in that year. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

However over the past year after the president was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while in the US I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Institutions come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, instead of the other way around.

“America is experiencing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … reminiscent of events in China decades past.”

Ever since the administration initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without the same levels of force.

But since the turmoil of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has emerged in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party critic, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of espionage seeking to divide the US.

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

Deng’s pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of public monitoring bears 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, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon 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, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn parallels with the East, where the distinction between state and business is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in additional firms it considers vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and China. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. US courts have halted or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis 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 observes that while numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities capitulate to official requests concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the government, “cannot refuse. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at a US university once vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad