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

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, protests, and exploring New York’s public library.

But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected again, there has been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I understood where the line was, whereas here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her fears reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president expects total allegiance. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, China’s strongman leader. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems was evident. And after decades of optimism in the US that closer ties with China could assist the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” stated Zhang Qianfan, an academic at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses to sideline or weaken the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though without the same levels of violence.

However after the upheaval of the early months of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown 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. He resided in America for several years, having fled China due to pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced significant backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy seeking to divide the US.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this would occur in America – what typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has parallels with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and monitoring public speech on topics deemed controversial … It's appearing here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, since public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “America is no longer a god for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take an investor in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have halted or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, the top universities are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously associated with repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad