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The US President is not typically known for guidance, especially from foreign leaders who frequently attempt to praise and compliment the US president.

But, the Central American nation's strongman president Bukele has adopted a distinct strategy by urging the White House to follow his example in removing so-called “dishonest judges.”

His appeal for Trump to move against the American court system also garnered backing from Maga figures, including an social media message by former close Trump ally the billionaire, who has in the past boosted Bukele's calls to impeach US judges.

Unprecedented Risks to Judicial Independence

Analysts say that the leader's latest intervention come at a time of unmatched threats to judicial independence and individual judges in the US, and during a period where the Trump administration is using comparable strong-arm methods employed by leaders in nations such as Turkey, the European state, India, and Bukele's own the Central American country to undermine democratic accountability.

The president's social media call last week was just the latest in a long series of taunts and claims he has made against the US's legal system, including a spring assertion that the US was “facing a court takeover,” and his mockery of a federal judge's ruling to stop deportation flights sending suspected undocumented individuals to his nation's harsh prison system.

Criticism on Federal Judge

Bukele's demand for removal was also made amid social media criticism on the state's justice Judge Immergut by White House aide Stephen Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Musk, and Trump himself in a latest press gaggle.

The judge had issued injunctions preventing Trump from mobilizing the national guard, first in the state then in California. The president has been pushing to send soldiers into Portland, which the president has described as “battle-scarred” based on limited, non-violent demonstrations outside the urban homeland security facility.

Record of Targeting Justices

Miller, Bondi, and Musk have a history of criticizing judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or otherwise hindered the government's policy goals. Prior to resuming office recently, Trump urged his followers against judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with threats and harassment.

Watchdog organizations, law enforcement agencies, and judges themselves have highlighted a increased atmosphere of threats and coercion in the months since he re-entered the presidency.

Increasing Threat Statistics

Based on information gathered by the US Marshals Service, in the current year through the end of September, there were 562 incidents to 395 federal judges, giving rise to more than eight hundred inquiries. 2025 has already surpassed 2022, and last year, and is likely to exceed the previous year's record of 630 reported incidents.

The threats are not just happening at the federal level. Data from the university's Bridging Divides Initiative indicates that there have been at least fifty-nine cases of intimidation, harassment, stalking, or physical attacks committed against judges on the local level in the current year.

Analyst Analysis on Threat Sources

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

In spring, the watchdog group published a detailed report alleging that “harmful and reckless statements from White House allies and supporters coincide with rising aggressive posts on social media.” It recorded “a fifty-four percent increase in demands for removal and violent threats against judges across social media platforms from January to February of this year, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Heidi Beirich, the founder of the organization, said: “The president's warnings against judges have definitely fueled digital abuse at judges and calls for ouster. Targeting the courts is one more step in the administration's advance towards strongman rule.”

Global Authoritarian Tactics

That march towards authoritarianism has been common in recent years in multiple nations, including by Bukele.

In 2021, immediately after commencing a new term despite constitutional prohibitions, Bukele’s allies in congress voted to remove the nation's top prosecutor and several justices on the supreme court. The justices, who had provoked his ire by ruling against coronavirus measures, were replaced by replacements hand picked by the leader.

The move mirrored Viktor Orbán’s overhaul of the nation's judiciary in 2018; the Turkish president's judicial purges in 2019; and attempts at comparable actions in Israel and the European country.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Experts explain that the intimidation and rhetorical attacks in the US can be seen as attempts to undermine judicial independence in a system that provides no simple method for the president to dismiss judges Trump opposes.

Leonard, an associate professor at the university who has researched authoritarian backsliding in democracies, said the White House had learned from the examples set by authoritarians overseas.

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

Pointing to examples such as the advisor's relentless claims of broad executive power, she noted: “They directly criticize the courts by stating repeatedly that it is not a co-equal branch in the government structure.

“They persist in redefine the debate by repeating their claim that the executive has greater authority than this other co-equal branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

The professor said: “Justices' only protection is people’s belief in the authority of their capacity to make those rulings. Personal intimidation on top of eroding trust in courts may make judges think twice about judgments that go against the current administration, which is, of course, massively problematic for judicial review and for democracy.”

Coercion Methods

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of social science and global studies at Princeton University, 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 pointed to a series of so-called “harassment deliveries” this year, in which judges have received unwanted pizza deliveries with the customer listed as Daniel Anderl, the son of Justice Salas, who was murdered at the residence in several years ago by a assailant aiming at the judge.

“All understands what it means. ‘Your address is known. We’re coming for you,’” Scheppele said.

“US justices are guarded by the presidential protection and the federal police. And those are both dedicated police units that sit structurally inside the federal agency. And Pam Bondi has been spearheading the criticism on federal judges.”

Government Goals

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