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

But, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has followed a distinct approach by calling on the White House to follow his example in impeaching what he terms “dishonest judges.”

His appeal for Trump to take action against the US judiciary also received backing from Maga figures, such as an social media message by former close Trump ally Elon Musk, who has in the past amplified Bukele's calls to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Court Autonomy

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 tactics used by rulers in countries such as Türkiye, Hungary, India, and Bukele's own the Central American country to weaken government oversight.

Bukele's social media call last week was just the latest in a long series of taunts and allegations he has leveled against the American judiciary, such as a spring claim that the US was “facing a court takeover,” and ridicule of a court's order to stop deportation flights transporting accused illegal immigrants to his country's harsh prison system.

Criticism on Oregon Justice

Bukele's demand for removal was also issued amid online attacks on the state's justice Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Elon Musk, and Trump himself in a latest press gaggle.

Immergut had ordered injunctions preventing Trump from mobilizing the military reserves, first in the state then in the West Coast state. Trump has been eager to dispatch soldiers into Portland, which the president has characterized as “battle-scarred” based on limited, peaceful demonstrations outside the urban homeland security facility.

History of Attacking Justices

The advisor, the former AG, and Musk have a history of criticizing judges who have blocked presidential directives or in other ways impeded the administration's political agenda. Before returning to power recently, the president urged his supporters against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then deluged with intimidation and harassment.

Monitoring groups, law enforcement agencies, and the justices have highlighted a increased atmosphere of threats and intimidation in the months since he re-entered the White House.

Rising Threat Statistics

Based on information gathered by the federal agency, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were 562 incidents to nearly four hundred US justices, giving rise to more than eight hundred inquiries. This year has already eclipsed the first recorded year, and 2024, and is likely to top 2023's record of 630 threats.

The dangers are not just happening at the national level. Data from the university's research project shows that there have been at least 59 cases of intimidation, harassment, surveillance, or violence directed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Analyst Analysis on Root Causes

Experts state that the intimidation are a product of the language coming from senior administration figures.

In May, the watchdog group published a detailed report alleging that “harmful and reckless statements from White House allies and allies align with escalating violent posts on online platforms.” It recorded “a 54% increase in demands for removal and violent threats against judges across social media platforms from January to February 2025, the initial period of the president's term.”

Beirich, the co-founder of GPAHE, said: “Trump’s threats against judges have certainly fueled digital abuse at judges and calls for impeachment. Targeting the judiciary is another move in Trump’s advance towards authoritarianism.”

International Authoritarian Playbook

This progression towards autocracy has been common in recent years in several countries, such as by the Salvadoran.

In several years ago, immediately after starting a second term in the face of legal bans, Bukele’s allies in congress voted to remove the nation's top prosecutor and several justices on the supreme court. The judges, who had angered him by rejecting coronavirus measures, made way for new appointees selected by Bukele.

The move echoed Viktor Orbán’s remodeling of Hungary’s court system several years back; the Turkish president's judicial purges recently; and attempts at comparable actions in Israel and the European country.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Analysts say that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as attempts to undermine court autonomy in a system that provides no simple method for the executive to remove judges the administration disapproves of.

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 failures. They know they’re not going to be able to pass any laws that would weaken the courts,” she said.

Pointing to instances such as Miller’s relentless assertions of nearly limitless executive power, she noted: “They directly criticize the courts by repeating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to reframe the debate by repeating their claim that the executive has more power than this other co-equal branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

Leonard said: “Judges' sole safeguard is public trust in the legitimacy of their ability to make those rulings. Individual threats on top of eroding institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for democracy.”

Intimidation Tactics

Scheppele, professor of sociology and global studies at Princeton University, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the likes of Orbán and the Russian, and has warned about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She pointed to a wave of so-called “pizza doxxings” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the customer listed as a name, the child of Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in 2020 by a gunman aiming at Salas.

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

“Federal judges are protected by the presidential protection and the federal police. And those are both dedicated police units that sit structurally inside the Department of Justice. And the former AG has been spearheading the attacks on justices.”

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 so hard to do. {Right now|Currently