Former US President Donald Trump raised eyebrows among his no-nonsense New Jersey crowd at a rally on Saturday when he recited a 1963 soul song in full and referred to a fictional cannibal as “great.”
In a meandering recitation of “The Snake” during a more than 90-minute speech, Trump used Oscar Brown’s song to draw a parallel with “illegal immigration and how stupid it is what we’re doing right now.”
“We are allowing people into our country and we are only going to cause problems,” said the Republican presidential candidate.
Trump has turned to music several times to highlight his anti-migrant stance, reportedly drawing objections from Brown’s family.
“A tender-hearted woman saw a poor half-frozen snake,” Trump said, reciting — but not singing — the song to the crowd.
“But instead of thanking him, the snake gave him a vicious bite.”
Trump, who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in the November elections, is using increasingly violent rhetoric surrounding the country’s migration crisis.
At the same time, the long recitation of “The Snake” provoked a subdued reaction from the crowd of thousands gathered on a beach in Wildwood, on the New Jersey coast.
Some looked on curiously as a man behind Trump, shown on a large screen, yawned and a group of spectators headed for the exit.
“Everyone enjoyed it? Don’t enjoy it, you should be – you should be scared!” he said awkwardly, speaking offhand after reciting a crib sheet he had in his jacket pocket.
A few months ago, the Republican stated that migrants were “poisoning the blood” of the United States, provoking a violent reaction.
Biden’s campaign accused him of imitating Hitler’s language.
And during his first presidential campaign, before the 2016 vote, Trump shocked observers with his language about “rapists” illegal migrants.
A bit of rambling about cannibalism also caught attention on social media.
“The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man,” Trump said, referring to the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs.”
“He would often invite a friend over for dinner,” he said smiling, repeating a well-known joke about the infamous cannibal character before returning to the migration.
“But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations, the late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people who are being released into our country that we don’t want in our country.”
gw/nro
