Trump's America During the New Administration Feels Strangely Familiar to Observers from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I openly disparage the government … I think this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she dove into a frenzy of “overindulging on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

However in the year since the president was elected again, there's been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or those who have lived in China, perceive as disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The leader expects total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with China could assist the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing a period of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is attempting to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”

Ever since the administration initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute the leader’s will, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of violence.

However after the turmoil of the early months under Trump has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’

The deepest parallel between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng resided in America since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives was doxed and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” he commented.

Deng’s backlash came from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance promoted by the CCP.

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

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than America’s, Zhang said. “It's somewhat painful to accept this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by the United States, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with China, where the line between state and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, the US government announced it will take a shareholder in a startup specialising in mineral refinement, after taking comparable shares in other companies it considers vital to national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have blocked or overturned many of Trump’s actions, something that would be unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled legal system.

Isaac Stone Fish, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States might face the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it will still be more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are starting to take precautions previously associated with more authoritarian countries. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters refused to speak for this piece. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad