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Donald Trump is not typically known for counsel, particularly from foreign leaders who frequently attempt to flatter and admire the American leader.

However, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Bukele has adopted a distinct approach by calling on the Trump administration to emulate his actions in impeaching so-called “dishonest judges.”

The call for the president to take action against the US judiciary also received support from Trump allies, including an social media message by one-time supporter Elon Musk, who has in the past amplified Bukele's demands to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Judicial Independence

Experts note that Bukele's latest intervention occur of unprecedented threats to judicial independence and specific justices in the US, and during a period where the Trump administration is using comparable authoritarian methods used by leaders in nations such as Turkey, Hungary, the Asian nation, and his native the Central American country to undermine government oversight.

The president's online call recently was one more in a string of provocations and allegations he has leveled against the American judiciary, such as a March claim that the US was “experiencing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a court's order to halt removal operations transporting suspected illegal immigrants to his nation's brutal correctional facilities.

Criticism on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also issued amid online criticism on Oregon federal judge Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Musk, and the president personally in a recent media briefing.

Immergut had issued injunctions blocking Trump from mobilizing the military reserves, first in the state then in California. The president has been eager to send soldiers into Portland, which the leader has characterized as “battle-scarred” based on small, non-violent protests outside the city's federal building.

History of Attacking Justices

Miller, Bondi, and the entrepreneur have a long record of attacking judges who have ruled against presidential directives or otherwise hindered the administration's political agenda. Before resuming office this year, Trump directed his followers against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then deluged with intimidation and abuse.

Watchdog organizations, police departments, and the justices have pointed to a increased climate of threats and intimidation in the months since he returned to the White House.

Rising Risk Data

Based on information gathered by the federal agency, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were 562 threats to 395 federal judges, leading to 805 investigations. This year has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is likely to exceed 2023's high of 630 reported incidents.

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

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

Specialists say that the threats are a result of the language coming from senior administration figures.

In spring, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a comprehensive report claiming that “malicious and reckless statements from White House allies and allies align with rising aggressive posts on online platforms.” It noted “a fifty-four percent rise in calls for removal and physical intimidation against judges across digital networks from January to February of this year, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Beirich, the co-founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s threats against judges have definitely fueled online vitriol at judges and calls for ouster. Targeting the judiciary is another move in the administration's advance towards strongman rule.”

Global Strongman Playbook

This progression towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in the past decade in several countries, such as by Bukele.

In 2021, immediately after starting a new term in the face of legal bans, Bukele’s allies in congress voted to dismiss the nation's top prosecutor and five judges on the supreme court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by ruling against pandemic policies, made way for replacements selected by the leader.

The action echoed the Hungarian leader's overhaul of the nation's judiciary in 2018; the Turkish president's court cleanups recently; and efforts at comparable actions in Israel and Poland.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Experts explain that the intimidation and verbal assaults in the US can be viewed as efforts to undermine court autonomy in a structure that offers no easy way for the executive to dismiss judges the administration disapproves of.

Leonard, an academic at the university who has researched authoritarian backsliding in free nations, said the Trump administration had taken cues from the examples set by strongmen overseas.

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

Pointing to examples such as the advisor's relentless assertions of nearly limitless executive power, she added: “They directly criticize the courts by stating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the government structure.

“They continue to redefine the discussion by emphasizing their claim that the president has more power than this judicial branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

The professor said: “Justices' only protection is public trust in the legitimacy of their capacity to make those rulings. Personal intimidation on top of weakening trust in courts may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, massively problematic for judicial review and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs at the Ivy League school, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the likes of Orbán and Putin, and has warned about rising threats to judges in the US.

She highlighted a wave of so-called “pizza doxxings” this year, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the recipient listed as a name, the son of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in 2020 by a assailant targeting Salas.

“All knows what it means. ‘We know where you live. You are a target,’” the professor said.

“US justices are guarded by the presidential protection and the federal police. And those are both specialized police units that sit institutionally inside the Department of Justice. And the former AG has been leading the criticism on federal judges.”

Administration Aims

On the government's objectives, the expert said that “removing a federal judge is highly not going to happen because it’s so hard to do. {Right now|Currently