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Donald Trump is not typically known for advice, particularly from foreign leaders who often seek to flatter and admire the American leader.

But, El Salvador's strongman president Nayib Bukele has adopted a distinct approach by urging the White House to emulate his actions in impeaching what he terms “corrupt judges.”

His appeal for the president to take action against the US judiciary also garnered backing from Trump allies, including an social media message by former close Trump ally Elon Musk, who has in the past boosted the Salvadoran's calls to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Judicial Independence

Analysts note that Bukele's latest intervention occur of unmatched threats to court autonomy and individual judges in the United States, and during a phase where the Trump administration is employing similar strong-arm methods used by leaders in nations such as Türkiye, the European state, India, and his native the Central American country to weaken democratic accountability.

Bukele's social media call last week was one more 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 federal judge's ruling to stop removal operations sending accused illegal immigrants to his nation's brutal prison system.

Criticism on Federal Judge

The Salvadoran's demand for removal was also made amid social media criticism on the state's justice Judge Immergut by White House aide Stephen Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president himself in a latest media briefing.

Immergut had issued injunctions blocking Trump from mobilizing the national guard, initially in Oregon then in the West Coast state. Trump has been eager to dispatch troops into the city, which the leader has described as “battle-scarred” based on small, peaceful demonstrations outside the city's federal building.

History of Attacking Judges

The advisor, Bondi, and the entrepreneur have a long record of attacking judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or in other ways impeded the administration's policy goals. Prior to resuming office this year, the president urged his followers against judges overseeing his civil and criminal trials, who were then inundated with intimidation and abuse.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and the justices have highlighted a increased atmosphere of threats and coercion in the period since he re-entered the presidency.

Increasing Threat Statistics

According to data collected by the federal agency, in the current year through the third quarter, there were 562 threats to nearly four hundred federal judges, leading to more than eight hundred inquiries. 2025 has already surpassed the first recorded year, and 2024, and is likely to top the previous year's high of over six hundred threats.

The threats are not just happening at the federal level. Information by the university's Bridging Divides Initiative shows that there have been at least 59 cases of threats, targeting, surveillance, or violence directed against judges on the state and municipal levels in 2025.

Expert Insights on Root Causes

Specialists state that the intimidation are a result of the language coming from top government officials.

In May, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a comprehensive report claiming that “harmful and reckless statements from Trump administration members and supporters align with rising aggressive posts on online platforms.” It noted “a 54% rise in demands 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.”

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

International Strongman Tactics

This progression towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in recent years in multiple nations, such as by the Salvadoran.

In several years ago, right after starting a second term despite legal bans, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the nation's attorney general and several judges on the constitutional court. The judges, who had angered him by ruling against coronavirus measures, made way for replacements selected by Bukele.

The action mirrored the Hungarian leader's overhaul of Hungary’s court system several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups in 2019; and efforts at comparable actions in Israel and the European country.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Analysts explain that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as attempts to weaken court autonomy in a structure that provides no simple method for the executive to dismiss judges Trump disapproves of.

Leonard, an academic at Illinois State University who has studied democratic decline in free nations, said the Trump administration had learned from the examples set by strongmen overseas.

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

Citing examples such as the advisor's persistent claims of nearly limitless executive power, she noted: “They openly attack the judiciary by stating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the government structure.

“They continue to redefine the debate by repeating their argument that the president has more power than this other co-equal branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

Leonard said: “Judges' only protection is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their ability to make those rulings. Personal intimidation on top of weakening institutional legitimacy may make judges hesitate about decisions that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, massively problematic for judicial review and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

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

She pointed to a wave of termed “harassment deliveries” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the customer listed as a name, the son of Judge Esther Salas, who was killed at the judge’s home in 2020 by a gunman targeting Salas.

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

“US justices are guarded by the presidential protection and the Marshals Service. And those are both specialized police units that are placed structurally inside the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi has been spearheading the criticism on justices.”

Administration Aims

On the government's objectives, Scheppele said that “impeaching a federal judge is highly not going to happen because it’s very difficult to do. {Right now|Currently