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The US President is not typically known for counsel, particularly from foreign leaders who often seek to flatter and compliment the US president.

However, El Salvador's strongman president Nayib Bukele has followed a distinct approach by calling on the White House to follow his example in removing so-called “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 one-time supporter Elon Musk, who has in the past amplified Bukele's demands to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Threats to Judicial Independence

Analysts note that the leader's recent remarks come at a time of unprecedented threats to judicial independence and individual judges in the US, and during a phase where the president's team is using similar strong-arm tactics employed by leaders in nations such as Turkey, the European state, the Asian nation, and Bukele's own El Salvador to undermine government oversight.

Bukele's online statement recently was one more in a long series of provocations and allegations he has leveled against the US's legal system, such as a March assertion that the US was “experiencing a judicial coup,” and ridicule of a federal judge's ruling to stop removal operations sending accused illegal immigrants to his country's harsh prison system.

Criticism on Federal Judge

Bukele's demand for removal was also issued amid social media attacks on Oregon justice Judge Immergut by White House aide Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Elon Musk, and Trump himself in a latest press gaggle.

The judge had ordered restraining orders preventing Trump from mobilizing the military reserves, initially in the state then in California. The president has been eager to send troops into Portland, which the president has characterized as “war-ravaged” based on limited, non-violent protests outside the city's federal building.

History of Attacking Judges

Miller, Bondi, and the entrepreneur have a long record of attacking judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's political agenda. Before resuming office recently, Trump directed his supporters against judges overseeing his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with intimidation and harassment.

Watchdog organizations, law enforcement agencies, and judges themselves have highlighted a heightened climate of threats and coercion in the months since he re-entered the White House.

Rising Threat Statistics

Based on information gathered by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the third quarter, there were 562 threats to 395 federal judges, leading to 805 investigations. 2025 has already eclipsed the first recorded year, and last year, and is likely to top 2023's high of 630 reported incidents.

The dangers are not only happening at the national level. Data from Princeton's Bridging Divides Initiative shows that there have been at least 59 cases of threats, targeting, surveillance, or physical attacks directed against judges on the local level in the current year.

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

Experts say that the threats are a product of the language coming from senior administration figures.

In spring, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a detailed report claiming that “harmful and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and supporters coincide with rising aggressive posts on online platforms.” It recorded “a 54% rise in demands for removal and violent threats against judges across digital networks from January to February of this year, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Beirich, the co-founder of GPAHE, said: “The president's warnings against judges have certainly fueled online vitriol at judges and calls for ouster. Targeting the judiciary is another move in the administration's march towards strongman rule.”

International Strongman Playbook

That march towards autocracy has been common in the past decade in multiple countries, such as by the Salvadoran.

In 2021, right after commencing a second term despite legal bans, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the nation's top prosecutor and several judges on the supreme court. The justices, who had angered him by ruling against pandemic policies, were replaced by new appointees selected by the leader.

The move mirrored Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of the nation's judiciary in 2018; the Turkish president's court cleanups recently; and attempts at similar moves in Israel and the European country.

Undermining Court Autonomy

Analysts explain that the intimidation and verbal assaults in the US can be viewed as attempts to weaken court autonomy in a structure that offers no easy way for the executive to dismiss judges Trump opposes.

Meghan Leonard, an academic at Illinois State University who has studied authoritarian backsliding in democracies, said the Trump administration had learned from the examples set by strongmen abroad.

“The government is observing 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 Miller’s persistent assertions of broad presidential authority, she added: “They openly attack the judiciary by stating repeatedly that it is not a co-equal branch in the government structure.

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

Leonard said: “Judges' sole safeguard 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 think twice about decisions that go against the sitting government, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for democracy.”

Coercion Methods

Scheppele, academic of sociology and international affairs at the Ivy League school, has documented the use of “autocratic legalism” by the such as Orbán and the Russian, and has warned about rising dangers to judges in the US.

She pointed to a wave of so-called “pizza doxxings” recently, in which judges have received unwanted food orders with the recipient listed as Daniel Anderl, the child of Judge Esther Salas, who was killed at the judge’s home in 2020 by a assailant aiming at the judge.

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

“US justices are protected by the Secret Service and the federal police. And these are dedicated law enforcement that are placed institutionally inside the federal agency. And the former AG has been spearheading the attacks on justices.”

Administration Aims

On the administration’s aims, Scheppele said that “impeaching a federal judge is almost certainly not going to happen because it’s so hard to do. {Right now|Currently