Trump's United States During the New Administration Seems Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from the East

When the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only considering which jokes to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publish openly material in which I openly disparage the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

The comedian, thirty-nine, resided in Shanghai for almost ten years, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, demonstrations, and delving into New York’s library system.

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

Wang’s fears mirror a new political reality in the US which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find eerily similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's strongman leader. He has described him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears that the US is shifting in China's path, rather than the other way around.

“The United States is undergoing a period of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in China decades past.”

Since the administration unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions early on of his term, many in China see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the mobilisation of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of force.

But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump subsided, a new, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the crackdown on open expression.

A former police officer, now a CCP critic, ended up in a controversy recently, similar to what he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America for several years, having fled China because of harassment from the authorities.

Last fall, following the passing of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to divide the US.

“This incident was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with the East.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something observed in China today as well,” she added, adding that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a type of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to the US for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is risky. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, now perceive it less objectionable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, as represented by the United States, appear in decline.”

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

Recently, authorities announced it will take a shareholder in a new company specialising in mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in additional firms it considers essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a new era of state intervention in private industry.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that would be unthinkable in China’s party-dominated legal system.

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 would remain more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

Zhang observes that although numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on campus, in the East, the top universities are all state-owned by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They dare not defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are beginning to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad