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The US President is not typically known for guidance, particularly from foreign leaders who frequently attempt to praise and admire the American leader.

But, the Central American nation's authoritarian leader Bukele has adopted a distinct approach by urging the White House to follow his example in removing so-called “corrupt judges.”

His appeal for Trump to move against the US judiciary also received support from Maga figures, including an social media message by one-time close Trump ally Elon Musk, who has previously boosted Bukele's demands to impeach US judges.

Growing Threats to Judicial Independence

Analysts say that Bukele's latest remarks come at a time of unmatched threats to court autonomy and specific justices in the US, and during a period where the president's team is using comparable strong-arm tactics employed by rulers in countries such as Türkiye, the European state, India, and his native El Salvador to undermine democratic accountability.

Bukele's social media statement last week was one more in a long series of provocations and allegations he has leveled against the American judiciary, including a March claim that the US was “facing a court takeover,” and ridicule of a federal judge's ruling to halt removal operations sending accused illegal immigrants to his nation's brutal correctional facilities.

Criticism on Federal Judge

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

The judge had ordered restraining orders blocking Trump from deploying the military reserves, initially in the state then in California. The president has been pushing to send troops into the city, which the president has characterized as “battle-scarred” based on limited, non-violent demonstrations outside the urban federal building.

Record of Targeting Justices

Miller, Bondi, and the entrepreneur have a history of attacking judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's policy goals. Prior to returning to power recently, Trump directed his followers against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then deluged with threats and harassment.

Monitoring groups, police departments, and judges themselves have pointed to a increased climate of risks and coercion in the period since he returned to the White House.

Increasing Threat Statistics

Based on data collected by the US Marshals Service, in 2025 through the end of September, there were over five hundred threats to nearly four hundred federal judges, leading to more than eight hundred investigations. 2025 has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is on track to top the previous year's high of over six hundred threats.

The dangers are not just happening at the national level. Data from the university's Bridging Divides Initiative indicates that there have been at least 59 instances of threats, targeting, stalking, or violence directed against judges on the local level in the current year.

Expert Insights on Threat Sources

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

In spring, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) published a detailed report alleging that “malicious and highly irresponsible statements from White House allies and allies align with escalating aggressive posts on online platforms.” It noted “a 54% rise in calls 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 co-founder of the organization, said: “The president's warnings against judges have definitely driven online vitriol at judges and demands for impeachment. Attacking the courts is another move in Trump’s march towards authoritarianism.”

International Authoritarian Tactics

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

In several years ago, immediately after starting a second term in the face of legal bans, Bukele’s allies in congress voted to dismiss the nation's top prosecutor and several judges on the supreme court. The justices, who had provoked his ire by ruling against pandemic policies, were replaced by new appointees selected by the leader.

The move mirrored Viktor Orbán’s remodeling of Hungary’s court system several years back; the Turkish president's court cleanups recently; and attempts at similar moves in the Middle Eastern state and the European country.

Weakening Judicial Independence

Analysts say that the threats and rhetorical attacks in the US can be viewed as efforts to undermine court autonomy in a system that provides no simple method for the president to dismiss judges the administration disapproves of.

Meghan Leonard, an academic at the university who has researched democratic decline in free nations, said the White House had learned from the examples set by strongmen 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 courts,” she said.

Citing examples such as Miller’s persistent assertions of nearly limitless presidential authority, she noted: “They directly criticize 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.”

The professor said: “Judges' only protection is people’s belief in the authority of their ability to make those decisions. 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.”

Intimidation Tactics

Scheppele, professor of social science and global studies at the Ivy League school, has written about the use of “authoritarian law” by the such as the Hungarian and the Russian, and has spoken out about escalating threats to judges in the US.

She highlighted a wave of so-called “harassment deliveries” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the recipient listed as Daniel Anderl, the son of Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered 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,’” the professor said.

“US justices are guarded by the presidential protection and the federal police. And these are dedicated police units that sit structurally inside the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi has been leading the criticism on justices.”

Government Goals

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