The United States During the New Administration Seems Oddly Familiar to Observers from the East

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes her platform in the Big Apple, she is not just thinking about what humor to deliver. She also weighs what subjects to avoid. “I refrain from openly criticizing the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for online platforms. “I would never publish openly content where I directly criticize the government … I believe this is a learned behavior from China.”

The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in 2022. By 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she dove into a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” going to lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.

However in the year after the president returned to office for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she notes. “In China, I understood the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”

Wang’s fears reflect a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Opponents face exclusion. The leader expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.

The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He's called him as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in economic tensions recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with diametrically opposed governance models became clear. Following years of hope in the US that closer ties with China may help the growing nation become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears as if America is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.

“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to marginalize or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump unleashed what's termed Department for Government Efficiency, or Doge, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the rallying of the youth to execute presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, the president as viewed from China has delivered Mao-style chaos to the US, though absent equivalent degrees of force.

However since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, a new, different kind of political atmosphere has emerged in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to numerous Chinese people.

‘The Lighthouse Has Become Dimmer’

The most profound similarity between the US today and the East is the crackdown on free speech.

A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm this year, the likes of which he once faced in China. He has lived in the US since 2019, after escaping China because of pressure from the authorities.

In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was “despicable”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I hadn't thought that something like this could happen in America – what should only happen in a repressive state,” Deng said.

His pile on came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with the East.

“In terms of targeting those who disagree and starting to surveil open discourse about issues deemed controversial … It's appearing in the US,” noted an academic, an associate professor at Georgia State University. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she said, stating that concerns are rising in the US of students reporting on educators, a form of monitoring promoted by the CCP.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for ideals, in part because public debate on internal affairs in the country is risky. However, “The US is no longer some kind of ideal for Chinese liberals. The US's reputation has declined generally.”

“We used to see the US as the symbol of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, now perceive it less objectionable than the US's, he stated. “It's somewhat painful to accept this … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “the West, as represented by America, appear declining.”

The government's acquisition of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between state and private industry is frequently unclear.

On Monday, authorities stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following comparable shares in additional firms deemed essential for national security. These moves have left certain stakeholders concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of government meddling in private industry.

There are still significant distinctions between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on government-authorised news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, something that is unthinkable in China’s party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, who established of Strategy Risks, specializing in China, commented: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain freer, open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor observes that although many intellectuals in the country were surprised to see American colleges yield to government demands regarding diversity and inclusion practices and free speech on campus, in China, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, who are appointed by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Still, Americans are beginning to take precautions previously confined to more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college once vocal on US-China issues refused to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of the censorship in the US: I genuinely feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad