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Donald Trump is not typically known for advice, especially from international figures who often seek to flatter and compliment the American leader.

But, El Salvador's strongman president Bukele has adopted a different approach by urging the White House to follow his example in removing what he terms “dishonest judges.”

The call for the president to take action against the US judiciary also received backing from Maga figures, such as an X post by former close Trump ally Elon Musk, who has previously boosted the Salvadoran's calls to oust US judges.

Unprecedented Threats to Court Autonomy

Experts say that Bukele's latest remarks come at a time of unmatched threats to judicial independence and specific justices in the US, and during a phase where the Trump administration is using comparable strong-arm methods used by leaders in countries such as Türkiye, Hungary, India, and Bukele's own El Salvador to weaken democratic accountability.

Bukele's social media statement recently was one more in a long series of taunts and allegations he has leveled against the US's legal system, such as a March claim that the US was “experiencing a court takeover,” and his mockery of a federal judge's order to halt removal operations transporting accused undocumented individuals to his nation's brutal prison system.

Attacks on Federal Judge

The Salvadoran's demand for removal was also made during online criticism on the state's federal judge Judge Immergut by White House aide Stephen Miller, former AG Pam Bondi, Musk, and the president personally in a latest press gaggle.

Immergut had ordered restraining orders blocking Trump from deploying the military reserves, first in the state then in California. The president has been eager to send troops into the city, which the leader has described as “battle-scarred” based on limited, peaceful protests outside the city's federal building.

Record of Targeting Justices

Miller, Bondi, and Musk have a history of attacking judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or in other ways hindered the government's political agenda. Prior to returning to power recently, Trump urged his followers against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then inundated with threats and abuse.

Monitoring groups, law enforcement agencies, and judges themselves have pointed to a increased climate of threats and intimidation in the period since he re-entered the presidency.

Increasing Threat Statistics

Based on data gathered by the US Marshals Service, in the current year through the third quarter, there were over five hundred incidents to nearly four hundred federal judges, giving rise to more than eight hundred inquiries. This year has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is likely to top the previous year's high of 630 threats.

The threats are not just happening at the federal level. Data from the university's research project indicates that there have been at least fifty-nine cases of intimidation, targeting, stalking, or violence committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in 2025.

Analyst Insights on Root Causes

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

In spring, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a comprehensive report claiming that “harmful and highly irresponsible statements from Trump administration members and supporters coincide with escalating violent posts on online platforms.” It noted “a 54% increase in demands for impeachment and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from January to February of this year, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have definitely fueled online vitriol at judges and calls for ouster. Attacking the courts is another move in the administration's march towards authoritarianism.”

Global Authoritarian Tactics

That march towards authoritarianism has been well-trodden in recent years in several nations, including by Bukele.

In 2021, right after starting a new term in the face of legal bans, the president's parliamentary loyalists voted to dismiss the country’s attorney general and several justices on the supreme court. The justices, who had angered him by ruling against coronavirus measures, made way for replacements selected by Bukele.

The move mirrored the Hungarian leader's overhaul of the nation's judiciary several years back; the Turkish president's judicial purges in 2019; and attempts at similar moves in Israel and the European country.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Experts say that the threats and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as efforts to weaken judicial independence in a system that offers no easy way for the president to remove judges the administration disapproves of.

Meghan Leonard, an associate professor at Illinois State University who has studied democratic decline in free nations, said the Trump administration had taken cues from the models set by strongmen abroad.

“The administration is observing at these achievements and failures. They know they’re not going to be able to pass any legislation that would weaken the courts,” she said.

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

“They continue to redefine the debate by emphasizing 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 authority of their ability to make those rulings. Personal intimidation on top of weakening institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about judgments that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for the political system.”

Coercion Methods

Scheppele, academic of social science and global studies at Princeton University, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the such as the Hungarian and Putin, and has spoken out about rising dangers to judges in the US.

She pointed to a wave of so-called “harassment deliveries” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited food orders with the customer listed as a name, the son of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in 2020 by a gunman aiming at the judge.

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

“US justices are guarded by the presidential protection and the Marshals Service. And those are both dedicated law enforcement that are placed institutionally inside the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi has been spearheading the criticism on justices.”

Government Goals

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