Trump's 'obsession' with Hannibal Lecter resurfaces in rant against 'savage' migrants preying on Americans

WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump's penchant for invoking pop culture figures resurfaced at a campaign event in Doral, Florida, where he drew a provocative parallel between the fictional cannibal Hannibal Lecter and his claims about a rise in "bloodthirsty" migrants entering the US from South America, Asia and Africa.

During a speech to a crowd on his golf course, Trump took a sarcastic tone and asked rhetorically, "Did anyone ever see The Silence of the Lambs?"

Donald Trump invokes Hannibal Lecter once again

"Did you ever hear of Hannibal Lecter?" Donald Trump continued with a mocking portrayal of Lecter, jokingly describing him as a "lovely man" who "would love to have you for dinner. He will take you. He had many people for dinner.”

Likening migrants to Lecter, Trump defended his comparison, asserting without evidence that foreign nations are deliberately sending violent individuals — such as "bloodthirsty terrorists, savage gang members, and child predators" — across the US border “to prey on our people, to prey on you, to prey on everybody.”

This is not the first time Trump has used Hannibal Lecter as a metaphor for his immigration policy. At a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, on June 28, Trump took the opportunity to reflect on his recent debate with President Joe Biden while issuing an unusual warning.

"They’re coming from prisons and jails, mental institutions and insane asylums like Silence of the Lamb," Trump claimed, referring to undocumented immigrants.

"The press always says, ‘Why does he ramble about Silence of the Lamb?’ The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’d like to have you over for dinner. Did you ever? Don’t do it. If he suggests, ‘I’d like to have you for dinner,’ don’t go. But these are the people that are coming into our country and they are coming in numbers that nobody can believe," MEAWW previously reported.

Similar claims were made at rallies in New Jersey and New Hampshire in May. While Trump has previously expressed his admiration for the character portrayed by various actors, including a cryptic reference to Anthony Hopkins, the actor himself has taken a distant stance towards Trump, as he explained in a 2018 interview.

Mads Mikkelsen, who portrayed Lecter in the TV series 'Hannibal,' avoided discussing the then-candidate during a CBS interview released days before the 2016 election, stating that Trump is “obviously not the classic politician.”

Donald Trump trolled over his 'weird obsession' with Hannibal Lecter

A social media user tweeted, "My god, like a Werther’s Original left out in the sun."

A second said, "I cannot believe I'm hearing 'Hannibal Lecter' and a 'Lovely Man' in the same sentence by the soon-to-be us, president. You have to give it to him, he's the greatest showman ever. He has mastered the game and the press is playing to his tune. This is how I wish to crack the algorithm."

A third tweeted, "Freak show."

"What is his weird obsession with Hanibal?" read a tweet. 

"They say Biden has issues?! AGAIN with Hannibal Lecter! Pathetic," penned a user.

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