Trump's United States Under the New Administration Seems Oddly Recognizable to Observers from the East

When the standup comedian, an emerging comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she is not just considering which jokes to deliver. She also weighs which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize authorities … I believe this is a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.

But in the year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I understood where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns reflect an emerging climate in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The leader demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's strongman leader. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the bonhomie between both figures of countries with diametrically opposed governance models was evident. And after decades of hope in the US that improved relations with the East may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is experiencing an era of societal upheaval,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Trump, is attempting to mobilise the grassroots to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to what happened in the country decades past.”

Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start in office, many in China see American governance via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent the same levels of force.

But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, a new, distinct type of political atmosphere has emerged in the country, which in different ways also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

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

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US for several years, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – who lost their jobs for making negative comments about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage seeking to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing could happen in America – what typically happens in a repressive state,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from fellow social media users, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East now as well,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “America is no longer a ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but since the new administration, that guide seems to have become dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, typically, 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 … but after the pandemic, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the distinction between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for national security. The deals have made certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

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 required reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”

Zhang notes that although numerous scholars in China were surprised to see US universities yield to official requests regarding diversity and inclusion practices and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to adopt measures previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college once outspoken on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad