Former President Donald Trump
May 31, 2024
Hannibal Lecter is a cannibalistic serial killer, a lover of fava beans and a good Chianti, a fictional character – and now a regular part of Donald Trump’s speeches.
While railing against immigration and the border at an August 3 rally in Atlanta, the Republican presidential candidate declared, “They hate it when I use Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The late, great Hannibal Lecter,” apparently referring to the media.
During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last month, he asked: “Has anyone seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He would love to take you to dinner. These are asylums. They’re emptying their asylums.”
On May 11, he told the crowd in Wildwood, New Jersey, “The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. … Do you remember the last scene?” Trump went on to say, “There are people being released into our country that we don’t want in our country.”
Trump’s references to Lecter are consistent and at the same time nonsensical. He typically mentions the fictional serial killer in the context of immigration, claims without evidence that the migrants come from insane asylums and mental institutions, and frequently uses dehumanizing language.
About 1% of those arrested at the southern border have criminal records, federal data show. There is little evidence that illegal immigrants commit more crimes than U.S. citizens. Many migrants crossing the U.S. border are here seeking political asylum, but that term has nothing to do with mental illness. Trump also spoke about Lecter before reading “The Serpent,” a poem he has used for years to convey an anti-immigrant message at his rallies and public events.
But the references to Lecter reveal something else about Trump: the era in which he rose to fame, and his time as a former celebrity. A Trump rally is a kind of time capsule, a moment frozen in amber from an earlier era – the 1980s – when Trump dominated New York’s clubs and tabloids and first graced the cover of Time magazine.
His self-curated rally playlists include hits like “YMCA” (1978) and “Gloria” (1982). The fit of his suits and the length of his ties scream 1980s. He still has a penchant for gold-plated interior design. Trump Tower was completed in 1983.
Trump is the “crypt keeper of the 1980s,” which “were the high point of his life until he became president,” said Tim O’Brien, a Trump biographer who has criticized the former president.
“Every time he opens the door, people from the 1980s pour out, whether it’s Roger Stone or Rudy Giuliani, fashion from the ’80s pours out, whether it’s his solid-colored tie or suits that are invariably made in two or three different colors … his office decor is still 1980s-style,” he said. “None of his tastes have been updated in decades.”
Trump’s obsession with Hannibal Lecter fits this pattern perfectly. Thomas Harris’s novel The Silence of the Lambs, on which the film is based, hit bookstores around the same time as Trump’s 1987 book Trump: The Art of the Deal. (The New York Times had the two books side by side on its paperback bestseller list in mid-1989.) The film, which starred Jodie Foster as FBI cadet Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins as Lecter, was released in 1991 and was the first and only horror film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A decade later, Trump attended the 2001 New York premiere of “Hannibal,” the sequel to “The Silence of the Lambs.” According to a USA Today article, he attended the premiere with his future wife, Melania Trump, and then-Melania Knauss. The article noted that the film studio at the time was concerned about how women would react to the bloody scenes. Melania said she had “no problems” and did not close her eyes. Trump responded, “I did.”
Trump began incorporating “The Silence of the Lambs” into his speeches in March 2023. He mentioned the film in an address to the Conservative Political Action Conference at the time, according to a Washington Post analysis of his speeches this campaign cycle. Lecter himself did not appear at a rally in Waterloo, Iowa, until October. In 70 speeches tracked by the Post between his November 2022 campaign kickoff and Aug. 12, Trump mentioned Lecter or the film “The Silence of the Lambs” in 20 of them. (Trump seemed to recognize that the references to Lecter might be outdated, musing at a rally in Sioux City that “young people” had never heard of him.)
The mentions of Lecter are an opportunity for Trump to further sharpen his previous descriptions of migrants, says Gwenda Blair, another Trump biographer. It is “not just about criminals and rapists, as Trump has been using them since 2015 … but also about cannibals.”
Trump “is someone who understands imagery and branding, and Hannibal Lecter is a well-known type of absolutely unspeakable horror,” Blair added.
Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, who is running for Senate, believes there’s a simple explanation. “It was a great movie,” Banks said. “Widely acknowledged as one of the best movies ever made. And I think he enjoys liberals getting worked up about it.”
Several people close to Trump’s campaign said they did not know the reason behind Trump’s fixation on Lecter and never asked. His speeches also seem to have confused Hopkins, the Welsh actor who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Lecter. In an interview with Deadline, Hopkins noted: “Hannibal, that movie was a long time ago. God, it was over 30 years ago. I am shocked and appalled by what you told me about Trump.”
In interviews at Trump’s rally in Atlanta, voters expressed different interpretations.
“When I first heard it, I thought, ‘What?’ But after hearing it a couple of times, I thought, ‘Oh, now I get the connection,'” said Jim Scandle, 72. “He’s trying to say that a lot of these people who come into this country illegally come from mental institutions, just like Hannibal Lecter. And just so you know, it has nothing to do with Hannibal Lecter, other than the fact that he was in a mental institution.”
Bert Sandler, 66, laughed when asked about “The Silence of the Lambs.” (Sandler hasn’t seen the film in “probably” six years, but exclaimed, “With fava beans!” when reflecting on Trump’s comments.)
He had a more philosophical interpretation.
“I think he’s just talking about where the world is today,” Sandler said. “I think that’s where we are, divided. I think he’s just trying to portray a character that’s pretty divisive and needs a lot of help, and I think America needs a lot of help.”
Debbie Courtney was briefer: “I just think it’s evil.” She added: “I don’t think he’s talking about someone eating someone for dinner.”
The Trump team did not provide any further explanation about the former president’s penchant for mentioning Lecter, nor did they comment on his personal views on fava beans and Chianti. Instead, Steven Cheung responded in a statement: “President Trump is an inspiring and gifted storyteller, and referencing pop culture is one of the many reasons he is successful at connecting with audiences and voters. (Vice President Kamala Harris), on the other hand, is as approachable as a worn-out sofa.”
— — –
Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report.
