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Donald Trump is not typically known for guidance, especially from international figures who often attempt to praise and admire the American leader.

But, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has followed a different approach by urging the Trump administration to follow his example in removing so-called “corrupt judges.”

His appeal for Trump to move against the US judiciary also received backing from Maga figures, such as an X post by one-time close Trump ally the billionaire, who has previously boosted Bukele's calls to oust US judges.

Growing Threats to Court Autonomy

Analysts note that Bukele's recent remarks occur of unprecedented dangers to judicial independence and individual judges in the United States, and during a phase where the president's team is employing similar authoritarian tactics used by leaders in countries such as Türkiye, Hungary, India, and Bukele's own 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 “experiencing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a court's order to halt removal operations transporting accused undocumented individuals to his nation's brutal prison system.

Criticism on Federal Judge

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also made amid social media criticism on the state's justice Karin Immergut by White House aide Stephen Miller, former AG Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president himself in a latest press gaggle.

The judge had ordered restraining orders blocking the administration from deploying the national guard, first in the state then in the West Coast state. The president has been pushing to dispatch soldiers into Portland, which the president has described as “war-ravaged” based on small, non-violent demonstrations outside the urban homeland security facility.

History of Attacking Judges

Miller, the former AG, and the entrepreneur have a history of criticizing judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's policy goals. Prior to returning to power recently, the president directed his supporters against judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with intimidation and harassment.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and the justices have highlighted a increased climate of threats and intimidation in the period since he returned to the presidency.

Rising Threat Statistics

According to data gathered by the federal agency, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were 562 threats to nearly four hundred US justices, leading to more than eight hundred inquiries. 2025 has already surpassed the first recorded year, and last year, and is likely to exceed 2023's high of 630 threats.

The dangers are not only happening at the national level. Data from Princeton's research project shows that there have been at least fifty-nine cases of intimidation, targeting, stalking, or violence committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

Experts say that the intimidation are a result of the language coming from top government officials.

In spring, the watchdog group published a detailed report alleging that “malicious and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and allies coincide with rising aggressive posts on online platforms.” It noted “a fifty-four percent increase in calls for removal and violent threats against judges across social media platforms from January to February 2025, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of GPAHE, said: “Trump’s threats against judges have certainly fueled online vitriol at judges and demands for impeachment. Attacking the judiciary is another move in Trump’s march towards strongman rule.”

Global Strongman Tactics

This progression towards autocracy has been common in the past decade in several countries, such as by Bukele.

In several years ago, immediately after starting a new term in the face of legal bans, the president's parliamentary loyalists voted to dismiss the country’s top prosecutor and several justices on the constitutional court. The justices, who had angered him by ruling against pandemic policies, made way for replacements selected by the leader.

The move mirrored Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of the nation's judiciary several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups recently; and efforts at similar moves in the Middle Eastern state and Poland.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Experts say that the intimidation and verbal assaults in the US can be viewed as efforts to undermine judicial independence in a system that offers no easy way for the executive to dismiss judges the administration disapproves of.

Leonard, an associate professor at Illinois State University who has studied authoritarian backsliding in free nations, said the White House had learned from the models set by authoritarians abroad.

“The administration is observing at these achievements and failures. They know they’re not going to be able to pass any legislation that would undermine the judiciary,” she said.

Pointing to instances such as Miller’s persistent assertions of nearly limitless presidential authority, she noted: “They openly attack the courts by stating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the government structure.

“They continue to redefine the debate by emphasizing their claim that the president has greater authority than this other co-equal branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

The professor said: “Justices' only protection is people’s belief in the authority of their capacity 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 court oversight and for democracy.”

Coercion Methods

Kim Lane Scheppele, academic of social science and international affairs at Princeton University, has documented the use of “authoritarian law” by the such as Orbán and Putin, and has warned about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She pointed to a series of so-called “harassment deliveries” this year, in which judges have received unwanted food orders with the recipient listed as Daniel Anderl, the son of Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered at the residence in several years ago by a gunman targeting the judge.

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

“Federal judges are guarded by the Secret Service and the federal police. And these are specialized police units that sit structurally inside the Department of Justice. And the former AG has been leading the criticism on justices.”

Government Goals

Regarding the administration’s aims, the expert said that “impeaching a federal judge is almost certainly not going to happen because it’s so hard to do. {Right now|Currently