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Donald Trump is not typically known for counsel, especially from international figures who often attempt to praise and admire the US president.

But, the Central American nation's authoritarian leader Bukele has followed a different strategy by urging the White House to follow his example in impeaching what he terms “corrupt judges.”

The call for Trump to take action against the US judiciary also received backing from Trump allies, such as an social media message by former close Trump ally Elon Musk, who has previously amplified Bukele's demands to impeach US judges.

Growing Threats to Judicial Independence

Experts note that the leader's latest remarks come at a time of unprecedented threats to judicial independence and specific justices in the US, and during a phase where the president's team is using similar authoritarian methods used by leaders in countries such as Türkiye, the European state, India, and his native the Central American country to undermine democratic accountability.

Bukele's online call last week was one more in a string of provocations and claims he has leveled against the American judiciary, such as a spring claim that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a court's order to halt deportation flights sending accused undocumented individuals to his country's harsh correctional facilities.

Criticism on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's demand for removal was also made amid online criticism on Oregon justice Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Stephen Miller, former AG Bondi, Elon Musk, and Trump personally in a recent press gaggle.

Immergut had ordered restraining orders preventing Trump from deploying the military reserves, initially in Oregon then in California. The president has been pushing to dispatch troops into the city, which the leader has described as “war-ravaged” based on limited, non-violent protests outside the city's homeland security facility.

History of Attacking Judges

The advisor, Bondi, and Musk have a long record of criticizing judges who have blocked presidential directives or otherwise impeded the government's political agenda. Prior to returning to power this year, the president urged his supporters against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then deluged with threats and harassment.

Watchdog organizations, police departments, and judges themselves have pointed to a heightened climate of risks and intimidation in the months since he re-entered the White House.

Increasing Threat Statistics

According to information gathered by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the end of September, there were 562 incidents to 395 US justices, giving rise to 805 inquiries. This year has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is on track to exceed 2023's high of 630 reported incidents.

The dangers are not only happening at the federal level. Information by Princeton's Bridging Divides Initiative indicates that there have been at least fifty-nine instances of threats, harassment, stalking, or physical attacks committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Analyst Analysis on Root Causes

Specialists say that the intimidation are a product of the language coming from top government officials.

In May, the watchdog group published a detailed report claiming that “malicious and highly irresponsible statements from Trump administration members and allies align with rising violent posts on online platforms.” It recorded “a 54% increase in calls for removal and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from January to February of this year, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of GPAHE, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have certainly driven digital abuse at judges and calls for ouster. Targeting the judiciary is another move in Trump’s march towards strongman rule.”

Global Authoritarian Tactics

This progression towards authoritarianism has been common in recent years in multiple countries, including by the Salvadoran.

In several years ago, right after starting a new term in the face of constitutional prohibitions, the president's allies in congress voted to remove the country’s top prosecutor and five justices on the supreme court. The justices, who had angered him by ruling against coronavirus measures, made way for new appointees selected by the leader.

The action echoed Viktor Orbán’s remodeling of Hungary’s court system in 2018; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s judicial purges recently; and efforts at similar moves in Israel and the European country.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Analysts say that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as efforts to undermine judicial independence in a structure that provides no simple method for the executive to dismiss judges Trump opposes.

Meghan Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has researched authoritarian backsliding in democracies, said the Trump administration had taken cues from the examples set by authoritarians abroad.

“The government is observing at these achievements and setbacks. They know they’re not going to be able to pass any legislation that would weaken the courts,” she said.

Citing examples such as Miller’s relentless claims of broad presidential authority, she added: “They directly attack the courts by stating repeatedly that it is not a co-equal branch in the government structure.

“They persist in reframe the discussion by emphasizing their claim that the president has more power than this other co-equal branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

Leonard said: “Justices' only protection is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their ability to make those rulings. Individual threats on top of weakening institutional legitimacy may make judges hesitate about judgments that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of social science and international affairs at the Ivy League school, has documented the use of “authoritarian law” by the such as the Hungarian and Putin, and has warned about rising dangers to judges in the US.

She pointed to a series of termed “harassment deliveries” this year, in which judges have received unwanted pizza deliveries with the customer listed as Daniel Anderl, the son of Judge Esther Salas, who was killed at the judge’s home in 2020 by a assailant targeting the judge.

“Everyone knows what it means. ‘Your address is known. We’re coming for you,’” the professor said.

“US justices are protected by the Secret Service and the federal police. And those are both specialized law enforcement that sit institutionally inside the federal agency. And Pam Bondi has been leading the criticism on federal judges.”

Administration Aims

On the government's aims, the expert said that “removing a US justice is almost certainly not going to happen because it’s very difficult to do. {Right now|Currently