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The US President rarely accepts counsel, especially from international figures who frequently attempt to flatter and admire the US president.

But, the Central American nation's strongman president Bukele has adopted a different approach by calling on the White House to follow his example in removing so-called “corrupt judges.”

The call for Trump to move against the American court system also garnered backing from Maga figures, including an social media message by one-time close Trump ally the billionaire, who has previously boosted the Salvadoran's demands to impeach US judges.

Growing Risks to Court Autonomy

Analysts note that the leader's latest remarks occur of unmatched dangers to court autonomy and individual judges in the US, and during a period where the Trump administration is using comparable strong-arm tactics used by rulers in nations such as Türkiye, Hungary, India, and Bukele's own the Central American country to weaken democratic accountability.

Bukele's social media call last week was one more in a string of taunts and allegations he has made against the US's legal system, such as a March claim that the US was “experiencing a judicial coup,” and ridicule of a court's order to stop removal operations transporting accused illegal immigrants to his nation's harsh prison system.

Attacks on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's demand for removal was also made amid social media criticism on the state's justice Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Miller, attorney general Bondi, Musk, and Trump personally in a latest media briefing.

The judge had issued restraining orders preventing Trump from deploying the national guard, initially in the state then in California. The president has been pushing to dispatch soldiers into Portland, which the president has described as “battle-scarred” based on limited, peaceful protests outside the city's federal building.

Record of Targeting Judges

Miller, the former AG, and the entrepreneur have a long record of attacking judges who have blocked Trump's executive orders or in other ways hindered the government's political agenda. Before returning to power recently, Trump directed his supporters against judges overseeing his legal cases, who were then deluged with threats and abuse.

Monitoring groups, law enforcement agencies, and judges themselves have highlighted a heightened atmosphere of risks and intimidation in the months since he re-entered the White House.

Increasing Risk Data

According to information collected by the federal agency, in the current year through the end of September, there were 562 incidents to 395 federal judges, leading to more than eight hundred inquiries. This year has already eclipsed the first recorded year, and 2024, and is on track to exceed 2023's high of 630 threats.

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

Analyst Insights on Threat Sources

Specialists say 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 detailed report alleging that “malicious and reckless statements from Trump administration members and allies coincide with escalating violent posts on online platforms.” It noted “a fifty-four percent rise in demands for removal and physical intimidation against judges across social media platforms from the first two months 2025, the initial period of Trump’s administration.”

Beirich, the founder of the organization, said: “The president's threats against judges have definitely driven digital abuse at judges and demands for ouster. Attacking the courts is another move in the administration's march towards strongman rule.”

International Strongman Playbook

This progression towards autocracy has been well-trodden in the past decade in multiple nations, including by Bukele.

In 2021, right after commencing a second term in the face of constitutional prohibitions, the president's parliamentary loyalists voted to remove the nation's top prosecutor and five justices on the supreme court. The judges, who had provoked his ire by ruling against pandemic policies, were replaced by new appointees hand picked by the leader.

The action mirrored the Hungarian leader's remodeling of Hungary’s court system several years back; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s judicial purges recently; and attempts at comparable actions in Israel and Poland.

Weakening Court Autonomy

Analysts explain that the threats and rhetorical attacks in the US can be viewed as efforts to weaken court autonomy in a system that offers no easy way for the president to dismiss judges the administration disapproves of.

Meghan Leonard, an academic at Illinois State University who has researched authoritarian backsliding in free nations, said the Trump administration had taken cues from the examples set by strongmen overseas.

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

Citing instances such as the advisor's relentless assertions of nearly limitless executive power, she added: “They directly criticize the judiciary by repeating repeatedly that it is not a co-equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They continue to reframe the debate by emphasizing their claim that the president has greater authority 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 legitimacy of their capacity to make those decisions. Personal intimidation on top of eroding trust in courts may make judges think twice about decisions that go against the current administration, which is, of course, highly concerning for judicial review and for democracy.”

Coercion Methods

Scheppele, academic of social science and global studies at the Ivy League school, has documented the use of “autocratic legalism” by the such as 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 food orders with the customer listed as Daniel Anderl, the child of Judge Esther Salas, who was killed at the residence in 2020 by a gunman aiming at Salas.

“All understands what it means. ‘Your address is known. You are a target,’” the professor said.

“US justices are guarded by the presidential protection and the Marshals Service. And those are both specialized police units that are placed structurally inside the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi has been leading the attacks on justices.”

Government Goals

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