Trump Supporters Endorse El Salvador Leader's Call for Trump to Crack Down on US Judges

Donald Trump is not typically known for counsel, particularly from international figures who frequently attempt to praise and compliment the US president.

However, El Salvador's strongman president Nayib Bukele has followed a distinct strategy by urging the White House to emulate his actions in removing so-called “corrupt judges.”

His appeal for Trump to move against the American court system also garnered backing from Trump allies, such as an X post by one-time close Trump ally Elon Musk, who has in the past boosted Bukele's calls to impeach US judges.

Growing Risks to Court Autonomy

Experts note that the leader's recent intervention come at a time of unmatched threats to judicial independence and individual judges in the United States, and during a period where the Trump administration is using comparable authoritarian tactics employed by leaders in countries such as Türkiye, Hungary, 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 taunts and claims he has leveled against the American judiciary, such as a March claim that the US was “facing a court takeover,” and ridicule of a federal judge's order to stop deportation flights sending accused undocumented individuals to his country's harsh prison system.

Criticism on Oregon Justice

The Salvadoran's impeachment call was also made amid social media attacks on the state's justice Judge Immergut by presidential advisor Stephen Miller, attorney general Pam Bondi, Musk, and Trump personally in a recent media briefing.

Immergut had issued restraining orders blocking the administration from mobilizing the national guard, initially in the state then in California. Trump has been eager to send soldiers into Portland, which the leader has characterized as “war-ravaged” based on limited, non-violent protests outside the urban homeland security facility.

History of Targeting Judges

The advisor, the former AG, and the entrepreneur have a history of attacking judges who have ruled against Trump's executive orders or otherwise impeded the administration's political agenda. Before returning to power recently, Trump urged his followers against judges presiding over his civil and criminal trials, who were then deluged with intimidation and harassment.

Monitoring groups, law enforcement agencies, and the justices have highlighted a increased climate of threats and coercion in the period since he re-entered the White House.

Increasing Threat Statistics

According to data gathered by the US Marshals Service, in the current year through the end of September, there were 562 incidents to nearly four hundred US justices, giving rise to 805 investigations. 2025 has already surpassed the first recorded year, and last year, and is on track to top 2023's record of over six hundred reported incidents.

The dangers are not only happening at the federal level. Data from Princeton's Bridging Divides Initiative shows that there have been at least 59 cases of intimidation, harassment, stalking, or physical attacks directed against judges on the state and municipal levels in the current year.

Analyst Insights on Root Causes

Specialists say that the threats are a product of the rhetoric coming from top government officials.

In spring, the watchdog group published a comprehensive report claiming that “harmful and highly irresponsible statements from Trump administration members and allies align with escalating aggressive posts on social media.” It noted “a 54% rise in calls for removal and violent threats against judges across digital networks from January to February of this year, the first full month of Trump’s administration.”

Beirich, the founder of the organization, said: “Trump’s warnings against judges have definitely fueled digital abuse at judges and demands for impeachment. Targeting the courts is another move in Trump’s march towards authoritarianism.”

International Strongman Tactics

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

In 2021, right after commencing a second term despite legal bans, Bukele’s allies in congress voted to dismiss the nation's attorney general and several judges on the constitutional court. The judges, who had angered him by rejecting pandemic policies, made way for replacements selected by the leader.

The action echoed the Hungarian leader's overhaul of Hungary’s court system in 2018; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s court cleanups recently; and attempts at similar moves in Israel and the European country.

Undermining Court Autonomy

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 executive to remove judges the administration disapproves of.

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

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

Citing instances such as Miller’s persistent claims of broad executive power, she added: “They openly criticize the courts by repeating repeatedly that it is not a co-equal branch in the separation of powers.

“They persist in reframe the debate by emphasizing their argument that the executive has more power than this judicial branch, which is not how checks and balances work.”

The professor said: “Judges' sole safeguard is people’s belief in the legitimacy of their ability to make those rulings. 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, massively problematic for court oversight and for the political system.”

Intimidation Tactics

Scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University, has documented the use of “autocratic legalism” by the likes of the Hungarian and Putin, and has spoken out about escalating dangers to judges in the US.

She highlighted a wave of so-called “pizza doxxings” recently, in which judges have received unsolicited pizza deliveries with the customer listed as a name, the son of Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered at the judge’s home in 2020 by a assailant aiming at the judge.

“All knows what it means. ‘Your address is known. You are a target,’” Scheppele said.

“Federal judges are guarded by the Secret Service and the federal police. And those are both dedicated police units that sit institutionally inside the Department of Justice. And the former AG has been leading the attacks on justices.”

Administration Aims

On the administration’s objectives, Scheppele said that “impeaching a US justice is highly not going to happen because it’s very difficult to do. {Right now|Currently