Donald Trump Praises Fictional Serial Killer Hannibal Lecter at Rally
Former President Donald Trump recently replayed an odd campaign-and-movie riff during a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey. In a surprising twist, he praised Hannibal Lecter, the psycho protagonist from the novel and Oscar-winning film “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Rally Details:
Date:
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Location:
Wildwood, New Jersey
Context:
Donald Trump addressing political rally-goers as he challenges Joe Biden’s re-election.)
The Praise:
Trump referred to Hannibal Lecter as “the late, great Hannibal Lecter” and called him a “wonderful man.” This fictional cannibal and murderer is one of the most evil characters in the history of cinema. Approximately 80,000 supporters attended the rally. The crowd also thinned out as Trump spoke.
“The late, great Hannibal Lecter,” Trump said during a rally Saturday in Wildwood, N.J., citing the psycho protagonist of the novel and Oscar-winning film. “The Silence of the Lambs” while discussing immigration policy. Trump praised Lecter – portrayed by Oscar-winning Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 film – while attacking migrants who are in the United States illegally.
Trump’s praise came while discussing immigration policy and attacking migrants who are in the United States illegally. He invoked the film’s famous final scene. where Lecter also follows his next victim down a crowded street, saying, “I’m having an old friend for dinner.”
- He described the cannibalistic Lecter from “Silence of the Lambs” as “late [and] great.”
- Simultaneously, he criticized “people who are being released into our country that we don’t want.”
- Trump also exaggerated his legal situation, comparing himself to Al Capone.
- Capone was indicted multiple times before his famous tax evasion conviction.
Past References:
Trump has praised Lecter and “The Silence of the Lambs” in the past, often linking them to exaggerated claims about prisoners and mental patients pouring across the U.S. border.
Trump’s Saturday tribute in New Jersey to a movie character killer drew criticism from his opponents. On the social media site X, foreign policy author Anne Applebaum wrote. “At what other moment in American history could a presidential candidate praise a fictional serial killer, and inspire almost no reaction at all?”
Kelly Carter-Currier, a retired teacher from New Hampshire, also expressed concern about the country’s direction.
