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

As the standup comedian, a rising comedic talent, steps onto the stage in New York, she's not only thinking about which jokes to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived 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 an intense period of “overindulging on democracy,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's public library.

But in the year after Donald Trump was elected again, there's been a noticeable shift in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Her concerns reflect a new political reality in the US which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, find disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments are attacked.

The president has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with diametrically opposed political systems was evident. Following years of optimism in America that closer ties with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it seems as if the US is being pulled in China's path, instead of vice versa.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or undermine the elite … similar to events in the country decades past.”

Ever since Trump unleashed the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of force.

However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously also feels familiar to many Chinese individuals.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’

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

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, having fled China due to pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Similar to others across the US – many of whom were fired for making negative comments regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage seeking to create division.

“This incident surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

Deng’s pile on originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.

“Regarding targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that progressive thinkers such as him once turned to the US for ideals, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We used to see the US as the beacon of constitutional democracy, but after Trump took power, that guide seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It's somewhat difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, as represented by America, appear in decline.”

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

On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a startup specialising in rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left some investors nervous that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.

Yet, there remain major differences between Trump’s America and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that required reporting solely on approved information. US courts have blocked or reversed numerous Trump’s actions, an action that is unthinkable in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.

An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, specializing in China, commented: “America 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 liberal than China under Xi.”

The professor notes that while numerous scholars in the country were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford defy orders.”

Still, people in the US are starting to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this article. He said: “The truth is, I am scared of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad