By Sarah Fortinsky - 05/13/24

Former President Trump referred to the notorious fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter as a “wonderful man” during a weekend campaign speech in New Jersey.

The moment of praise for the cannibal from “The Silence of the Lambs” came as Trump was comparing migrants to Lecter, repeating the unsubstantiated claim that migrants crossing the border are violent criminals or are coming from other countries’ “insane asylums.”

“Has anyone ever seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter,” Trump said.

Trump then returned to his focus on the migrant crisis.

“We have people that have been released into our country that we don’t want in our country, and they’re coming in totally unchecked, totally unvetted. And we can’t let this happen. They’re destroying our country, and we’re sitting back,” Trump continued. “And we better damn well win this election, because if we don’t, our country is going to be doomed. It’s going to be doomed.”

Trump, throughout his campaign, has compared migrants to Lecter. He has, in the past, praised Lecter as “legendary” and a nice fellow, The New York Times noted.

Trump’s latest remarks come after spending time the past few weeks in a Manhattan courtroom, rather than traveling and making campaign stops as he runs for another term in the White House.