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The US President rarely accepts advice, particularly from international figures who often attempt to flatter and admire the American leader.

However, the Central American nation's authoritarian leader Nayib Bukele has adopted a different strategy by calling on the White House to follow his example in impeaching what he terms “dishonest judges.”

The call for Trump to take action against the American court system also garnered backing from Maga figures, including an social media message by one-time supporter the billionaire, who has previously amplified Bukele's calls to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Judicial Independence

Experts say that Bukele's recent intervention come at a time of unprecedented threats to judicial independence and specific justices in the US, and during a phase where the president's team is employing similar authoritarian methods employed by leaders in countries such as Türkiye, the European state, India, and Bukele's own El Salvador to weaken government oversight.

Bukele's online call recently was one more in a string of provocations and allegations he has leveled against the US's legal system, including a spring claim that the US was “facing a court takeover,” and ridicule of a court's ruling to stop removal operations sending suspected undocumented individuals to his nation's harsh prison system.

Attacks on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also made amid social media attacks on Oregon federal judge Karin Immergut by presidential advisor Stephen Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Elon Musk, and the president personally in a recent press gaggle.

Immergut had ordered injunctions preventing the administration from mobilizing the national guard, first in Oregon then in California. Trump has been pushing to dispatch troops into Portland, which the leader has described as “war-ravaged” based on limited, peaceful demonstrations outside the urban federal building.

History of Attacking Justices

Miller, the former AG, and the entrepreneur have a long record of criticizing judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or in other ways impeded the government's political agenda. Prior to resuming office this year, Trump directed his supporters against judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with threats and abuse.

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

Increasing Threat Statistics

According to data collected by the federal agency, in the current year through the third quarter, there were 562 threats to nearly four hundred federal judges, giving rise to 805 inquiries. 2025 has already surpassed the first recorded year, and last year, and is likely to exceed the previous year's high of 630 threats.

The dangers are not only happening at the national level. Information by Princeton's research project shows that there have been at least fifty-nine instances of threats, targeting, stalking, or physical attacks directed against judges on the local level in the current year.

Analyst Insights on Root Causes

Experts say that the intimidation are a result of the rhetoric coming from senior administration figures.

In spring, the watchdog group published a detailed report claiming that “harmful and reckless statements from White House allies and allies coincide with escalating aggressive posts on social media.” It noted “a 54% increase in calls for impeachment and violent threats against judges across digital networks from the first two months of this year, the first full month of the president's term.”

Heidi Beirich, the founder of GPAHE, said: “The president's threats against judges have definitely fueled online vitriol at judges and demands for impeachment. Targeting the judiciary is one more step in Trump’s advance towards authoritarianism.”

Global Authoritarian Tactics

That march towards autocracy has been common in recent years in several countries, including by the Salvadoran.

In 2021, immediately after starting a new term in the face of legal bans, the president's allies in congress voted to dismiss the country’s attorney general and five justices on the constitutional court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by rejecting pandemic policies, were replaced by new appointees selected by Bukele.

The move mirrored the Hungarian leader's remodeling of Hungary’s court system several years back; the Turkish president's court cleanups recently; and attempts at comparable actions in Israel and Poland.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Analysts explain that the intimidation and verbal assaults in the US can be seen as attempts to undermine judicial independence in a system that offers no easy way for the president to remove judges the administration opposes.

Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has studied democratic decline in free nations, said the White House had taken cues from the models set by strongmen abroad.

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

Citing instances such as Miller’s relentless claims of nearly limitless presidential authority, she noted: “They directly attack the judiciary by stating over and over that it is not a co-equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to reframe the discussion by emphasizing their claim that the president has more power than this other co-equal branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

Leonard said: “Judges' only protection is public trust in the legitimacy of their ability to make those rulings. Personal intimidation on top of eroding institutional legitimacy may make judges think twice about decisions 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 the Ivy League school, has written about the use of “autocratic legalism” by the likes of Orbán and Putin, and has spoken out about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She highlighted a series of termed “pizza doxxings” this year, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the customer listed as a name, the child of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in several years ago by a assailant targeting Salas.

“All understands what it means. ‘We know where you live. You are a target,’” the professor said.

“US justices are protected by the Secret Service and the Marshals Service. And those are both dedicated law enforcement that sit structurally inside the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi has been spearheading the criticism on justices.”

Government Goals

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