Trump's America Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Those Watching from China

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just considering which jokes to tell. Additionally, she weighs which topics to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not recorded for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share content in which I openly disparage authorities … I believe this is a habit from China.”

The comedian, 39, lived in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on democracy,” attending talks, protests, and exploring the city's library system.

But over the past year since Donald Trump was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “Back home, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on unstable ground.”

Wang’s concerns reflect an emerging political reality in America which many Chinese, or those with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.

The president has not been shy about his admiration for China's leader, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called him as a “great guy”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in economic tensions on Thursday, the camaraderie between both figures of countries with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East may help the rising power to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it seems as if the US is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“America is undergoing an era of societal upheaval,” said Zhang Qianfan, an academic at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in China half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on federal institutions early on in office, many in China see US politics via the perspective of China's historical period. Be it the rallying of young people to execute the leader’s will, or purging institutions of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to America, albeit without the same levels of violence.

But after the upheaval of the initial period under Trump has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of climate has settled in the country, which variously also feels recognizable to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Beacon Has Become Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in the eye of a storm this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He has lived in America since 2019, after escaping the country because of pressure from officials.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.

His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the state, but such of social surveillance also has similarities with China.

“In terms of targeting dissenters and monitoring public speech on topics that are sensitive … That’s starting to emerge in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in China today as well,” she said, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The professor, the Peking University law professor, explained that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing internal affairs in China is dangerous. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. America’s image has worsened across the board.”

“We once viewed America as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse seems to have become less luminous”.

Chinese liberals, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government appears to be pursuing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” he noted, 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 business is often blurred.

Recently, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a startup focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in the private sector.

There are still major differences between Trump’s America and the East. Last month, multiple media outlets among others declined to agree to a defense department rule that required they only report on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, something that is unthinkable in the nation's party-dominated legal system.

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

Zhang notes that although many intellectuals in China were shocked to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, who are appointed by the state, “have no liberty of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once outspoken on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He said: “Honestly, I fear of the censorship here: I genuinely feel less afraid criticizing China's leader now than say anything bad