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The US President is not typically known for advice, particularly from international figures who frequently attempt to flatter and admire the US president.

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

The call for Trump to move against the US judiciary also garnered backing from Trump allies, including an X post by former close Trump ally the billionaire, who has in the past amplified Bukele's calls to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Threats to Court Autonomy

Analysts say that Bukele's recent intervention occur of unprecedented dangers to judicial independence and individual judges in the US, and during a phase where the Trump administration is using similar authoritarian methods used by rulers in countries such as Turkey, Hungary, the Asian nation, and his native El Salvador to undermine democratic accountability.

Bukele's online call last week was one more in a string of taunts and claims he has made against the US's legal system, such as a March assertion that the US was “experiencing a court takeover,” and ridicule of a federal judge's ruling to stop removal operations sending suspected illegal immigrants to his nation's brutal correctional facilities.

Attacks on Federal Judge

Bukele's demand for removal was also issued amid online attacks on Oregon federal judge Karin Immergut by White House aide Stephen Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president himself in a latest media briefing.

The judge had issued injunctions preventing Trump from mobilizing the national guard, initially in the state then in California. The president has been pushing to send troops into the city, which the leader has characterized as “battle-scarred” based on limited, non-violent protests outside the city's federal building.

Record of Attacking Justices

The advisor, the former AG, and the entrepreneur have a history of attacking judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or in other ways impeded the government's policy goals. Prior to resuming office this year, Trump directed his supporters against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then deluged with intimidation and abuse.

Watchdog organizations, law enforcement agencies, and judges themselves have highlighted a heightened climate of risks and intimidation in the months since he returned to the presidency.

Increasing Risk Data

Based on data collected by the federal agency, in the current year through the end of September, there were 562 threats to 395 federal judges, giving rise to 805 inquiries. 2025 has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is on track to exceed 2023's high of over six hundred reported incidents.

The threats are not only happening at the national level. Data from Princeton's Bridging Divides Initiative indicates that there have been at least 59 cases of intimidation, harassment, surveillance, or physical attacks directed against judges on the local level in 2025.

Expert Insights on Root Causes

Specialists say that the threats are a product of the rhetoric coming from top government officials.

In May, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report claiming that “malicious and reckless statements from White House allies and supporters align with escalating violent posts on online platforms.” It recorded “a 54% rise in calls for impeachment and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from the first two months 2025, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of the organization, said: “The president's threats against judges have certainly fueled digital abuse at judges and demands for impeachment. Targeting the judiciary is one more step in Trump’s march towards authoritarianism.”

Global Strongman Tactics

That march towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in recent years in multiple countries, such as by the Salvadoran.

In 2021, immediately after starting a new term in the face of legal bans, Bukele’s parliamentary loyalists voted to remove the nation's top prosecutor and five justices on the constitutional court. The justices, who had angered him by rejecting pandemic policies, made way for new appointees selected by Bukele.

The move mirrored the Hungarian leader's overhaul of Hungary’s court system in 2018; the Turkish president's court cleanups recently; and attempts at similar moves in Israel and the European country.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Analysts say that the threats and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as attempts to weaken judicial independence in a system that provides no simple method for the executive to dismiss judges Trump opposes.

Leonard, an associate professor at Illinois State University who has studied democratic decline in democracies, said the Trump administration had taken cues from the examples set by strongmen abroad.

“The administration is looking around at these achievements and setbacks. They know they’re not going to be able to pass any laws that would weaken the judiciary,” she said.

Pointing to examples such as the advisor's relentless assertions of broad executive power, she noted: “They openly criticize the courts by repeating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They persist in reframe the debate by repeating their argument 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 legitimacy of their ability to make those rulings. Personal intimidation on top of eroding trust in courts may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the current administration, which is, of course, massively problematic for judicial review and for democracy.”

Intimidation Tactics

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

She highlighted a wave of so-called “harassment deliveries” this year, in which judges have received unsolicited food orders with the recipient listed as a name, the son of Justice Salas, who was killed at the judge’s home in several years ago by a assailant targeting Salas.

“Everyone understands what it means. ‘Your address is known. You are a target,’” Scheppele said.

“US justices are protected by the presidential protection and the Marshals Service. And these are dedicated law enforcement that sit structurally inside the federal agency. And the former AG has been spearheading the criticism on justices.”

Administration Aims

Regarding the government's aims, Scheppele said that “impeaching a federal judge is highly not going to happen because it’s so hard to do. {Right now|Currently