Donald Trump mentions Hannibal Lecter again during Charlotte, North Carolina rally: 'These are real stories'

It's just another day in the soap opera that is US politics as Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump brought up Hannibal Lecter in a rally yet again, explaining he keeps bringing the fictional character up because he's telling "real stories".

Dr Hannibal Lecter is a character created by American novelist Thomas Harris and is probably best known on screen in the film Silence of the Lambs played by Anthony Hopkins.

Lecter is a cannibal serial killer who has also been played by Brian Cox and Mads Mikkelsen across various TV shows and films. Although Harris took inspiration from real-life events, such as the infamous 'killer doctor' Alfredo Ballí Treviño, to create the character but he's still fictional.

But that's not stopped Trump from referencing him once again (he seems to think he is real), this time during a speech in Charlotte, North Carolina when speaking about immigration.

"They're coming not just from South America but from Africa, from Asia, from the Middle East," Trump said.

"They're coming from everywhere. They're coming from all over the world, from prisons and jails, mental institutions and insane asylums!

"You know, they go crazy when I say the late great Hannibal Lecter, okay? They say, 'why would he mention Hannibal Lecter? He must be cognitively in trouble'.

"No, no. These are real stories. Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs. He's a lovely man. He wants to have you for dinner. He'd like to have you for dinner."

As he delivered that last line, he pointed to someone in the crowd.

Trump started mentioning Lecter in his rallies in May when he called him a "wonderful man", again while talking about immigration; in June, it's reported he advised his supporters not to hang out with Lecter.

"Don't do it," he's reported as saying.

In the wake of his recent comments about the fictional serial killer it has been speculated that Trump might not know the difference between an 'insane asylum' and 'political asylum.'

Does Trump know the difference? Time will tell but we wouldn't bet on finding out the answer anytime soon.

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