Donald Trump likens migrants to the 'late, great Hannibal Lecter' in RNC speech, the former president's latest bizarre reference to cannibal serial killer depicted by Anthony Hopkins in Silence Of The Lambs
- Trump faces increasing backlash for his comments about illegal migrants to US
Donald Trump likened migrants to the 'late, great Hannibal Lecter' in his latest bizarre reference to the fictional cannibal serial killer during a speech at the Republican National Convention.
The former President, 78, rallied against undocumented migrants and those seeking asylum while addressing the crowd in Wisconsin last night, claiming the number of violent crimes was falling in Latin American countries because 'they're sending their murderers' to the US.
He added that they were coming from 'prisons... mental institutions and insane asylums', before including a strange reference to the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs, featuring Anthony Hopkins, 86, as Thomas Harris' fictional cannibal serial killer.
The 'late, great Hannibal Lecter' would 'love to have you for dinner... That's insane asylums,' he said. The former president produced unsupported claims that Latin American countries were 'emptying out their insane asylums'.
It is not the first time Trump has appealed to voters through Lecter. He said previously migrants were coming to the US 'from mental institutions... that's Silence of the Lambs stuff'.
He has also praised the character as 'a wonderful man' - to the annoyance of Hopkins, who told Deadline he was 'shocked and appalled [by] what you've told me about Trump' this week.
Trump spoke about immigration during his speech at the RNC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Anthony Hopkins portrayed the fictitious cannibal in the 1991 film 'Silence of the Lambs'
Trump gestures during a speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night
Commenting on the remarks, Ammar Moussa, a campaign spokesperson for Biden, told The New York Times: 'Donald Trump is just playing the greatest hits from 2016.'
'He has not changed. He has not moderated. He has gotten worse — except now he talks about the 'late, great, Hannibal Lecter."'
Thursday night's comments echo similar comments made during a campaign speech in New Jersey earlier this year, again repeating unsubstantiated claims about migrants moving to the United States from 'insane asylums' and moving his audience with reference to the 1991 film.
'Has anyone ever seen "The Silence of the Lambs"? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He's a wonderful man,' he said.
'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,' he said at the rally in May, before going on to denounce 'totally unchecked' migrants to the US.
Hannibal Lecter, the character, survives in the film, and his actor, Anthony Hopkins, is alive and still working in media.
Trump was widely denounced for his comments in December, telling a rally in Durham, New Hampshire that undocumented migrants were 'poisoning the blood of our country'.
'All over the world they are pouring into our country,' he said, claiming immigrants were coming to the US from Asia, Africa and South America in an apparent bid to capitalize on growing anti-migration sentiment in the United States ahead of the November 2024 election.
Polls suggest the American public takes a dim view of existing immigration policies, with even Democratic voters swinging towards Trump's proposals for mass deportation.
2024 was the first year since 2005 that a majority of the public supported reducing immigration.
'He’s dog-whistling to Americans who feel under stress and strain from the economy and conflicts around the world,' former New Jersey governor and Republican presidential contender Chris Christie told CNN at the time.
'He’s dog-whistling to blame it on people from areas that don’t look like us.'
Some raised concerns the language appeared to mirror language used by Adolf Hitler in his manifesto, Mein Kampf.
Anti-Defamation League leader Jonathan Greenblatt called the language 'racist, xenophobic and despicable.'
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump in late December whether he meant 'poisoning the blood' as Hitler had, that Jewish blood cannot be part of German blood.
Trump roundly rejected the association and said he 'never knew that Hitler said it' - before continuing to employ the phrase throughout the interview.
Steven Cheung, his campaign spokesperson, said: 'President Trump made clear he was talking about the terrorists, criminals, and people from insane asylums crossing the border, which is true since individuals on the terror watchlist and members of transnational gangs have illegally crossed.'
A month prior, Trump was slammed for referring to political opponents as 'vermin' during a rally in New Hampshire.
He pledged to 'root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.'
Political historians say the use of dehumanizing rhetoric, including words like 'vermin', makes it easier to strip away rights from residents and citizens as they are seen as less worthy of democratic or constitutional protections.
The Nazis, for example, frequently referred to Jews as lice, rats and vermin.
Trump speaks at the Republican National Convention on the fourth day of the event on July 18
Supporters of Donald Trump rally in Milwaukee Wisconsin on the final night of the RNC
Trump signs paperwork to officially accept the nomination during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Thursday, July 18, 2024
And in March, Trump came under fire for referring to immigrants in the country illegally as 'animals'.
'In some cases they're not people, in my opinion,' he said in Ohio.
'But I'm not allowed to say that because the radical Left says that's a terrible thing to say. These are animals, OK, and we have to stop it,'
While available data on criminals' immigration status is sparse, researchers say people in the country illegally do not commit violent crimes at a higher rate than native-born citizens.
