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Donald Trump does not usually take guidance, particularly from international figures who often attempt to praise and compliment the American leader.

However, El Salvador's authoritarian leader Bukele has followed a different strategy by urging the Trump administration to follow his example in impeaching so-called “dishonest judges.”

The call for Trump to take action against the American court system also garnered support from Trump allies, including an social media message by one-time close Trump ally Elon Musk, who has in the past amplified the Salvadoran's calls to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Court Autonomy

Analysts note that Bukele's recent remarks come at a time of unprecedented threats to judicial independence and specific justices in the United States, and during a phase where the president's team is employing comparable authoritarian methods used by leaders in countries such as Turkey, Hungary, the Asian nation, and Bukele's own El Salvador to undermine government oversight.

Bukele's social media statement last week was just the latest in a long series of taunts and allegations he has made against the US's legal system, such as a spring assertion that the US was “experiencing a judicial coup,” and ridicule of a court's order to halt removal operations sending accused undocumented individuals to his nation's brutal prison system.

Criticism on Federal Judge

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also issued amid online attacks on the state's justice Judge Immergut by White House aide Miller, former AG Bondi, Musk, and Trump himself in a recent press gaggle.

The judge had ordered injunctions blocking Trump from deploying the military reserves, first in the state then in California. The president has been pushing to send soldiers into the city, which the leader has characterized as “battle-scarred” based on small, non-violent demonstrations outside the city's federal building.

Record of Targeting Judges

Miller, Bondi, and Musk have a long record of criticizing judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's political agenda. Before resuming office recently, the president urged his supporters against judges overseeing his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with intimidation and abuse.

Watchdog organizations, law enforcement agencies, and the justices have pointed to a increased atmosphere of threats and coercion in the months since he re-entered the White House.

Increasing Risk Data

According to data gathered by the US Marshals Service, in the current year through the end of September, there were 562 incidents to 395 US justices, giving rise to 805 investigations. 2025 has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is on track to exceed the previous year's record of over six hundred threats.

The threats are not just happening at the federal level. Information by Princeton's research project indicates that there have been at least 59 cases of intimidation, harassment, stalking, or physical attacks committed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Expert Analysis on Threat Sources

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

In May, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report alleging that “malicious and reckless statements from White House allies and allies align with rising violent posts on social media.” It noted “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 first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have certainly driven digital abuse at judges and calls for impeachment. Attacking the judiciary is one more step in Trump’s march towards authoritarianism.”

Global Authoritarian Playbook

That march towards autocracy has been well-trodden in recent years in multiple nations, including by the Salvadoran.

In 2021, immediately after starting a new term in the face of constitutional prohibitions, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the nation's attorney general and several justices on the supreme court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by rejecting pandemic policies, made way for new appointees selected by Bukele.

The action echoed Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of the nation's judiciary several years back; the Turkish president's court cleanups in 2019; and efforts at comparable actions in the Middle Eastern state and Poland.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Experts explain that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as efforts to undermine court autonomy in a system that provides no simple method for the president to dismiss judges Trump disapproves of.

Leonard, an associate professor at Illinois State University who has researched authoritarian backsliding in free nations, said the White House had taken cues from the examples set by authoritarians overseas.

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

Citing instances such as Miller’s relentless assertions of nearly limitless executive power, she noted: “They openly attack the judiciary by repeating repeatedly that it is not a equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to redefine the discussion by repeating their argument that the executive has greater authority than this judicial branch, which is not how separation powers work.”

Leonard said: “Judges' sole safeguard 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 decisions that go against the current administration, which is, of course, massively problematic for judicial review and for democracy.”

Intimidation Tactics

Scheppele, academic of social science and global studies at the Ivy League school, has written about the use of “autocratic legalism” by the likes of the Hungarian and Putin, and has warned about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She highlighted a series of so-called “harassment deliveries” recently, in which judges have received unwanted pizza deliveries with the recipient 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 aiming at the judge.

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

“Federal judges are protected by the Secret Service and the federal police. And these are dedicated law enforcement that are placed structurally inside the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi has been leading the attacks on federal judges.”

Government Goals

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