Trump's America During the New Administration Feels Oddly Recognizable to Observers from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. She also carefully considers which topics to avoid. “I don't engage in directly attacking the administration,” she stated. And when she ventures there, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material where I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior acquired back home.”

Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for nearly a decade, leaving in that year. In 2025, she relocated to the US. When she got there, she embarked on an intense period of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending lectures, protests, and delving into New York’s library system.

But over the past year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the environment, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect an emerging climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people who have lived in the country, perceive as disturbingly similar. Opponents face exclusion. The president demands absolute loyalty. Reporters are targeted. Establishments come under fire.

Trump has not been shy regarding his respect for China's leader, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a brief ceasefire in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different political systems became clear. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the growing nation become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” stated a constitutional law expert, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or weaken established figures … similar to events in China decades past.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on the Washington bureaucracy at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of perceived enemies, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though without equivalent degrees of force.

But after the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which variously also feels recognizable to many Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The most profound parallel between the US today and China is the crackdown on free speech.

Deng Haiyan, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. Deng has lived in the US since 2019, having fled China due to harassment from officials.

Last fall, after the death of a public figure, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – who lost their jobs as a result of making negative comments about Kirk – he encountered a huge backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to create division.

“This incident was a real shock. I never imagined that something like this could happen in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has similarities with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is that you see in China now as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself once turned to America for ideals, since public debate on internal affairs in China is dangerous. But now, “America is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened generally.”

“We once viewed America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, now perceive it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and developing electric cars and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has also drawn comparisons with China, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

Recently, the US government stated it will take an investor in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, following comparable shares in other companies deemed vital to the country's safety. The deals have left some investors concerned that America is embarking on a fresh phase of state intervention in the private sector.

Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on government-authorised information. American judiciary have halted or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that would be impossible in China’s party-dominated legal system.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into the worst crisis of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, more open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that although numerous scholars in China were shocked to see US universities capitulate to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, 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.”

Nevertheless, people in the US are beginning to take precautions that were once confined to repressive regimes. One professor at a US university who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader these days than say anything bad