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Donald Trump does not usually take counsel, especially from foreign leaders who often seek to praise and admire the US president.

But, the Central American nation's authoritarian leader Bukele has adopted a distinct strategy by calling on the Trump administration to emulate his actions in impeaching so-called “corrupt judges.”

His appeal for Trump to take action against the US judiciary also garnered backing from Maga figures, including an social media message by one-time supporter the billionaire, who has in the past boosted Bukele's calls to impeach US judges.

Growing Threats to Court Autonomy

Experts say that the leader's recent remarks come at a time of unprecedented threats to court autonomy and individual judges in the United States, and during a phase where the Trump administration is employing similar authoritarian tactics used by rulers in nations such as Türkiye, Hungary, the Asian nation, and his native El Salvador to undermine democratic accountability.

The president's online statement recently was just the latest in a string of taunts and claims he has leveled against the American judiciary, such as a March assertion that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and his mockery of a court's order to halt deportation flights transporting accused undocumented individuals to his country's brutal correctional facilities.

Criticism on Federal Judge

Bukele's impeachment call was also issued amid online criticism on the state's justice Judge Immergut by White House aide Stephen Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Musk, and Trump himself in a latest media briefing.

Immergut had issued restraining orders preventing the administration from deploying the national guard, initially in the state then in the West Coast state. Trump has been eager to dispatch soldiers into Portland, which the leader has described as “war-ravaged” based on small, non-violent protests outside the city's homeland security facility.

History of Targeting Justices

Miller, the former AG, and Musk have a long record of criticizing judges who have ruled against presidential directives or in other ways impeded the administration's political agenda. Prior to returning to power recently, Trump urged his supporters against judges presiding over his legal cases, who were then inundated with threats and abuse.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and judges themselves have pointed to a heightened atmosphere of risks and coercion in the months since he returned to the presidency.

Rising Threat Statistics

Based on information collected by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were over five hundred threats to nearly four hundred federal judges, leading to more than eight hundred inquiries. 2025 has already eclipsed 2022, and 2024, and is on track to top 2023's high of 630 reported incidents.

The dangers are not just happening at the national level. Information by the university's Bridging Divides Initiative shows that there have been at least 59 instances of threats, targeting, surveillance, or physical attacks committed against judges on the local level in the current year.

Analyst Insights on Threat Sources

Experts state that the intimidation are a result of the rhetoric coming from senior administration figures.

In spring, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report claiming that “harmful and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters coincide with escalating aggressive posts on social media.” It noted “a 54% rise in demands for impeachment and violent threats against judges across digital networks from January to February 2025, the first full month of the president's term.”

Heidi Beirich, the founder of GPAHE, said: “The president's warnings against judges have definitely fueled digital abuse at judges and calls for ouster. Attacking the courts is one more step in Trump’s advance towards strongman rule.”

Global Authoritarian Tactics

This progression towards autocracy has been common in recent years in multiple countries, including by the Salvadoran.

In 2021, immediately after starting a new term despite legal bans, the president's allies in congress voted to remove the nation's top prosecutor and five justices on the constitutional court. The justices, who had angered him by rejecting coronavirus measures, made way for replacements selected by Bukele.

The action mirrored Viktor Orbán’s remodeling of Hungary’s court system several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups recently; and attempts at similar moves in Israel and Poland.

Undermining Judicial Independence

Analysts explain that the threats and verbal assaults in the US can be viewed as efforts to weaken judicial independence in a system that provides no simple method for the president to dismiss judges the administration opposes.

Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has researched democratic decline in free nations, said the White House had taken cues from the models set by authoritarians overseas.

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

Citing instances such as the advisor's persistent claims of nearly limitless presidential authority, she added: “They directly attack the courts by repeating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the government structure.

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

The professor said: “Justices' sole safeguard is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their ability to make those decisions. Individual threats on top of eroding trust in courts may make judges think twice about judgments that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

Scheppele, academic of sociology and international affairs at the Ivy League school, has documented the use of “autocratic legalism” by the likes of the Hungarian and Putin, and has warned about rising threats to judges in the US.

She pointed to a series of so-called “harassment deliveries” this year, in which judges have received unsolicited food orders with the recipient listed as a name, the child of Judge Esther Salas, who was killed at the residence in several years ago by a gunman targeting the judge.

“All understands what it means. ‘Your address is known. We’re coming for you,’” the professor said.

“Federal judges are guarded by the Secret Service and the Marshals Service. And these are specialized law enforcement that are placed institutionally inside the Department of Justice. And the former AG has been leading the criticism on federal judges.”

Administration Aims

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