Donald Trump appears to think Hannibal Lecter is a real person

Donald Trump bizarrely praised fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter during his rally speech in New Jersey at the weekend.

The former US president called the "late, great” cannibalistic character played by Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 film Silence of The Lambs a "wonderful man" and after asked the crowd if anyone had seen the famous horror movie.

After this, the 77-year-old went on a rant about immigration where he denounced "people who are being released into our country that we don’t want."

There were over 80,000 supporters in attendance on Saturday (11 May) under the shadow of the Great White roller coaster in Wildwood, New Jersey.

It's not the first time Trump has referenced Lecter to drum home his stance on immigration as he believes people who cross the border are violent criminals or mentally ill, but there is no evidence to support this claim.

Back in March, he said people entering the US are “rough people, in many cases from jails, prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, … you know, insane asylums, that’s ‘Silence of the Lambs’ stuff,” as per NBC News.

“Hannibal Lecter, anybody know Hannibal Lecter? We don’t want ‘em in this country.”

Meanwhile, during his campaigning for the 2024 presidential elections, Trump previously described Lecter as "legendary," as well as a nice fellow on another occasion, The New York Times reported.

But Lecter wasn't the only person to get a mention in Saturday's rally speech as Trump also compared himself with gangster Al Capone, referring to his own ongoing criminal hush-money trial.

“I’ve been indicted more than the great Alphonse Capone. Scarface," he said.

“Al Capone was so mean that if you went to dinner with him and he didn’t like you, you’d be dead the next morning. And I got indicted more than him.”

However, Trump's claim is incorrect as Capone was indicted at least six times, as A. Brad Schwartz, the co-author of a book on Capone, told CNN.

Trump also used his rally speech to have a go at US President Joe Biden who is his Democrat rival in the upcoming election by calling him a "total moron".

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