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Donald Trump is not typically known for counsel, especially from foreign leaders who often attempt to praise and compliment the American leader.

However, the Central American nation's authoritarian leader Bukele has followed a different approach by calling on the White House to follow his example in impeaching so-called “corrupt judges.”

The call for the president to move against the American court system also received backing from Maga figures, including an X post by one-time supporter the billionaire, who has in the past amplified Bukele's demands to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Court Autonomy

Experts say that the leader's latest remarks come at a time of unmatched dangers to court autonomy and specific justices in the United States, and during a period where the Trump administration is employing comparable strong-arm methods used by rulers in nations such as Türkiye, the European state, India, and his native El Salvador to undermine democratic accountability.

The president's online statement last week was one more in a string of provocations and allegations he has made against the American judiciary, including a spring assertion that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and ridicule of a court's order to stop removal operations transporting accused undocumented individuals to his country's harsh prison system.

Attacks on Federal Judge

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

Immergut had issued restraining orders blocking the administration from deploying the military reserves, first in Oregon then in the West Coast state. The president has been eager to dispatch troops into the city, which the president has described as “battle-scarred” based on limited, peaceful protests outside the urban federal building.

History of Attacking Judges

The advisor, Bondi, and Musk have a history of attacking judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's political agenda. Prior to resuming office recently, Trump directed his followers against judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with threats and harassment.

Watchdog organizations, law enforcement agencies, and the justices have pointed to a heightened atmosphere of threats and coercion in the months since he re-entered the White House.

Rising Threat Statistics

Based on data gathered by the federal agency, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were over five hundred incidents to 395 US justices, leading to 805 investigations. This year has already eclipsed 2022, and last year, and is likely to top the previous year's high of 630 threats.

The dangers are not just happening at the national level. Data from Princeton's research project shows that there have been at least 59 cases of intimidation, harassment, surveillance, or physical attacks committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in 2025.

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

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

In spring, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report alleging that “harmful and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters align with escalating violent posts on social media.” It noted “a fifty-four percent increase in demands for removal and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from January to February of this year, the initial period of the president's term.”

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 the administration's advance towards strongman rule.”

Global Authoritarian Tactics

This progression towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in recent years in several countries, including by Bukele.

In 2021, right after starting a new term despite legal bans, Bukele’s parliamentary loyalists voted to remove the country’s top prosecutor and five justices on the supreme court. The justices, who had provoked his ire by ruling against coronavirus measures, made way for new appointees selected by Bukele.

The action echoed Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of the nation's judiciary several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s judicial purges recently; and attempts at similar moves in Israel and Poland.

Undermining Judicial Independence

Experts say that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be viewed as attempts to weaken court autonomy in a structure that offers no easy way for the president to dismiss judges the administration disapproves of.

Leonard, an academic at Illinois State University who has studied authoritarian backsliding in democracies, said the White House 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 pass any laws that would undermine the judiciary,” she said.

Pointing to examples such as Miller’s relentless claims of nearly limitless presidential authority, she added: “They openly criticize the judiciary by repeating over and over that it is not a co-equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They persist in redefine the discussion by repeating their claim that the executive has more power than this judicial branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

Leonard said: “Judges' only protection is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their capacity to make those decisions. Individual threats on top of eroding trust in courts may make judges hesitate about decisions that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for democracy.”

Coercion Methods

Scheppele, academic of social science and global studies at the Ivy League school, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the such as the Hungarian and the Russian, and has spoken out about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She pointed to a series of termed “pizza doxxings” this year, in which judges have received unsolicited food orders with the recipient listed as Daniel Anderl, the child of Judge Esther Salas, who was killed at the judge’s home in several years ago by a gunman targeting the judge.

“All understands what it means. ‘We know where you live. We’re coming for you,’” Scheppele said.

“Federal judges are guarded by the presidential protection and the Marshals Service. And those are both dedicated police units that are placed institutionally inside the federal agency. And Pam Bondi has been leading the criticism on justices.”

Government Goals

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