Former President Trump referred to notorious fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter as a “wonderful man” during a weekend campaign speech in New Jersey.
The cannibal-praising moment from “The Silence of the Lambs” came as Trump compared migrants to Lecter, repeating the baseless claim that migrants crossing the border are violent criminals or come from “insane asylums” in other countries.
“Has anyone seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He is a wonderful man. He often invited a friend over for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to invite a friend over for dinner’, when this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to invite a friend over for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter,” Trump said.
Trump then returned to focusing on the migrant crisis.
“We have people who have been released into our country that we don’t want in our country, and they are coming in completely unchecked, totally unchecked. And we can’t let that happen. They are destroying our country and we are sitting back,” Trump continued. “And we better win this election, because if we don’t, our country will be doomed. You will be doomed.”
Trump, throughout his campaign, compared migrants to Lecter. He has, in the past, praised Lecter as “legendary” and a good guy, The New York Times observed.
Trump’s latest remarks come after spending the last few weeks in a Manhattan courtroom rather than traveling and making campaign stops as he runs for another term in the White House.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
