Donald Trump gave praise to the popular movie villain Hannibal Lecter during his campaign speech over the weekend.
Former President Donald Trump praised another big name during a campaign rally held on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, over the weekend. The cannibalistic (and fictional) serial killer Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs, made famous on the film and television screen by actors Sir Anthony Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen. Trump made the statements while disparaging immigrants arriving at the nation’s southern border.

Trump: Silence of the lamb! The late great Hannibal Lecter. It is a wonderful man. pic.twitter.com/edG9oCH933

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 11, 2024

“Silence of the Lamb,” Trump said. “Has anyone ever seen The Silence of the Lambs? The late great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man,” the former President said. “He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me. I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ And this poor doctor walks by,” he continued. “I’m about to have a friend for dinner. But Hannibal Lecter,” he added before finishing: “Congratulations. The late great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that are being released into our country that we don’t want in our country.”

Trump’s praise of a macabre serial killer wasn’t the only verbal gaffe that he made to the crowd in attendance, at one point stating that he was “up here screaming like a lunatic” during another attack on President Joe Biden. The audience was reported to have 80,000 people, with New York Giants Hall-of-Famer Lawrence Taylor making an appearance. But one reporter with the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that many began to leave as Trump began to speak.

Trump is still speaking, but the crowd has been thinning. People have been walking out back to the boardwalk. pic.twitter.com/gPSvZeDFgW

— Aliya Schneider (@aliyareports) May 11, 2024

The former president and presumptive Republican nominee held court over only his third campaign rally since the beginning of his “hush money” trial involving adult film star Stormy Daniels, taking place in New York City. The trial, now in its fourth week, has restricted Trump from doing more due to his being required to attend save for Wednesdays when the court is in recess. He spent time calling the proceedings a “Biden show trial,” and even called the trial “bull—“, encouraging some in the audience to chant the obscenity. That trial resumed on Monday (May 13) with his former fixer Michael Cohen on the stand, with expectations that the prosecution will rest at the end of the week.