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Donald Trump does not usually take guidance, especially from international figures who frequently attempt to flatter and admire the US president.

But, the Central American nation's authoritarian leader Bukele has followed a distinct strategy by urging the Trump administration to follow his example in impeaching so-called “dishonest judges.”

His appeal for Trump to move against the US judiciary also received support from Trump allies, including an X post by former close Trump ally the billionaire, who has previously amplified the Salvadoran's calls to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Court Autonomy

Experts say that Bukele's recent remarks come at a time of unmatched dangers to court autonomy and individual judges in the United States, and during a period where the Trump administration is using comparable authoritarian methods employed by leaders in countries such as Türkiye, the European state, the Asian nation, and Bukele's own El Salvador to undermine democratic accountability.

The president's social media call recently was just the latest in a long series of taunts and claims he has leveled against the American judiciary, such as a March claim that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and ridicule of a court's ruling to stop removal operations sending suspected undocumented individuals to his nation's harsh prison system.

Criticism on Federal Judge

Bukele's demand for removal was also issued during social media attacks on the state's federal judge Judge Immergut by White House aide Miller, former AG Bondi, Musk, and the president personally in a latest media briefing.

Immergut had ordered injunctions preventing Trump from mobilizing the national guard, first 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 demonstrations outside the urban homeland security facility.

History of Targeting Judges

Miller, Bondi, and the entrepreneur have a history of criticizing judges who have ruled against presidential directives or otherwise hindered the government's political agenda. Prior to returning to power recently, Trump urged his supporters against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then inundated with intimidation and harassment.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and the justices have highlighted a heightened atmosphere of risks and coercion in the period since he re-entered the White House.

Rising Threat Statistics

Based on information collected by the federal agency, in the current year through the third quarter, there were over five hundred incidents to 395 federal judges, giving rise to more than eight hundred investigations. 2025 has already eclipsed 2022, and 2024, and is on track to exceed the previous year's record of 630 reported incidents.

The threats are not just happening at the federal level. Data from the university's Bridging Divides Initiative shows that there have been at least fifty-nine instances of intimidation, harassment, surveillance, or violence directed against judges on the state and municipal levels in 2025.

Analyst Insights on Threat Sources

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

In May, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report alleging that “malicious and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters align with rising aggressive posts on social media.” It recorded “a 54% rise in calls for removal and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from January to February 2025, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s threats against judges have certainly driven digital abuse at judges and demands for ouster. Attacking the courts is another move in the administration's march towards authoritarianism.”

Global Authoritarian Tactics

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

In 2021, right after starting a second term despite legal bans, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the country’s top prosecutor and five judges on the supreme court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by ruling against coronavirus measures, made way for replacements selected by the leader.

The move mirrored Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of Hungary’s court system in 2018; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups recently; and efforts at similar moves in Israel and the European country.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Experts say that the intimidation and verbal assaults in the US can be seen as attempts to weaken judicial independence in a system that provides no simple method for the president to dismiss judges Trump opposes.

Meghan 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 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 courts,” she said.

Citing examples such as the advisor's persistent assertions of nearly limitless executive power, she noted: “They directly attack the courts by repeating repeatedly that it is not a co-equal branch in the government structure.

“They persist in redefine the debate by emphasizing their argument that the executive has more power than this judicial branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

Leonard said: “Justices' sole safeguard is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their capacity to make those decisions. Personal intimidation on top of eroding trust in courts may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for court oversight and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

Scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University, has written about 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 highlighted a wave of so-called “pizza doxxings” this year, in which judges have received unwanted food orders with the customer 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.

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

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

Administration Aims

On the government's aims, the expert said that “impeaching a US justice is almost certainly not going to happen because it’s so hard to do. {Right now|Currently