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Donald Trump is not typically known for advice, especially from foreign leaders who frequently seek to praise and compliment the American leader.

But, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has followed a different approach by urging the White House to emulate his actions in removing what he terms “dishonest judges.”

His appeal for Trump to move against the US judiciary also garnered backing from Trump allies, such as an social media message by former close Trump ally Elon Musk, who has in the past boosted the Salvadoran's demands to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Court Autonomy

Analysts say that Bukele's latest remarks occur of unmatched dangers to judicial independence and specific justices in the United States, and during a phase where the Trump administration is employing comparable strong-arm methods used by leaders in nations such as Turkey, Hungary, India, and his native the Central American country to weaken democratic accountability.

The president's social media call recently was just the latest in a string of provocations and allegations he has made against the American judiciary, such as a March assertion that the US was “facing a judicial coup,” and ridicule of a federal judge's order to stop deportation flights sending accused illegal immigrants to his nation's brutal correctional facilities.

Attacks on Oregon Justice

Bukele's impeachment call was also issued amid online attacks on Oregon justice Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, former AG Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president personally in a latest press gaggle.

Immergut had ordered restraining orders preventing Trump from deploying the national guard, first in the state then in California. The president has been pushing to dispatch troops into Portland, which the president has described as “war-ravaged” based on small, non-violent demonstrations outside the urban federal building.

Record of Attacking Justices

The advisor, the former AG, and the entrepreneur have a long record of attacking judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or in other ways impeded the government's policy goals. Prior to returning to power recently, the president urged his supporters against judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with intimidation and abuse.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and judges themselves have highlighted a heightened atmosphere of threats and coercion in the months since he re-entered the White House.

Rising Risk Data

Based on data gathered by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the end of September, there were over five hundred incidents to nearly four hundred US justices, leading to 805 inquiries. This year has already surpassed the first recorded year, and last year, and is on track to exceed the previous year's record of over six hundred threats.

The dangers are not just happening at the federal level. Data from Princeton's research project indicates that there have been at least fifty-nine cases of intimidation, harassment, stalking, or physical attacks directed against judges on the state and municipal levels in 2025.

Analyst Insights on Threat Sources

Experts state that the intimidation are a result of the rhetoric coming from top government officials.

In spring, the watchdog group published a detailed report alleging that “harmful and highly irresponsible statements from Trump administration members and allies align with rising aggressive posts on social media.” It recorded “a 54% increase in demands for removal and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from the first two months of this year, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have certainly driven online vitriol at judges and calls for impeachment. Attacking the judiciary is another move in the administration's advance towards strongman rule.”

Global Strongman Tactics

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

In several years ago, right after commencing a new term in the face of constitutional prohibitions, the president's parliamentary loyalists voted to dismiss the country’s top prosecutor and five judges on the constitutional court. The justices, who had provoked his ire by ruling against coronavirus measures, were replaced by replacements hand picked by Bukele.

The move mirrored Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of Hungary’s court system in 2018; the Turkish president's judicial purges recently; and attempts at similar moves in Israel and Poland.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Experts say that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as attempts to undermine court autonomy in a system that offers no easy way for the executive to dismiss judges Trump opposes.

Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has researched democratic decline in democracies, said the White House had learned from the examples set by strongmen overseas.

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

Citing instances such as the advisor's relentless claims of broad presidential authority, she noted: “They openly criticize the courts by stating over and over that it is not a equal branch in the government structure.

“They continue to redefine the debate by emphasizing their argument that the executive has more power than this judicial branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

Leonard said: “Justices' only protection is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their capacity to make those rulings. Personal intimidation on top of eroding trust in courts may make judges hesitate about judgments that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for the political system.”

Coercion Methods

Scheppele, professor of social science and global studies at Princeton University, has documented the use of “authoritarian law” by the likes of Orbán and Putin, and has spoken out about rising threats to judges in the US.

She pointed to a wave of termed “harassment deliveries” this year, in which judges have received unwanted food orders with the customer listed as a name, the son of Justice Salas, who was killed at the residence in several years ago by a gunman targeting Salas.

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

“US justices are protected by the Secret Service and the federal police. And those are both specialized law enforcement that sit institutionally inside the federal agency. And the former AG has been leading the criticism on federal judges.”

Administration Aims

Regarding the government's aims, the expert said that “removing a US justice is almost certainly not going to happen because it’s very difficult to do. {Right now|Currently