During the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Vice President Harris commented on Trump’s rallies. She called them akin to incoherent word salad. She wasn’t wrong.
Aside from random stories of big men coming to him crying, Donald Trump had a special fascination towards the stories of Hannibal Lecter. Yes, the fictional character. A cannibal.
If you are confused as to what inspiration can a presidential candidate get from a cannibal in a movie, you can join the line.
Through his campaign, Trump brought out the topic of how Hannibal Lecter was an inspiring figure and he fought against the system (we are just as clueless). And on more than one occasion, he called the character- Great Hannibal Lecter.
After the elections, it was assumed the character would go back to the books and movies. Apparently not. Hannibal Lecter has been the subject of new, odd remarks from President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump was joined by female members of Congress and key women allies in his administration. It was for a White House-hosted Women’s History Month event on Wednesday. Trump took a moment during his speech to call out the cannibalistic murderer. However, the occasion called for celebrating women throughout history and was no way related to Lecter.
Trump: “We got a lot of votes because of Hannibal Lecter.” pic.twitter.com/JQ5iRtcYhq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 26, 2025
He said to the crowd – The legendary Dr. Hannibal Lecter used to be in a hotel room close to you. He added that “fake news” would ask, “Why does he keep mentioning Hannibal Lecter?”. “You know why?” I asked. Since we recently won an election. Hannibal Lecter helped us gain a large number of votes. “Hannibal Lecter is not welcome in our nation,” Trump declared to the bewildered audience.
This word vomit made no sense. Yet here we are.
Every time Trump talks about Lecter, people get more and more confused. Steven Cheung is the director of communications for the Trump campaign. He answered many inquiries on the Republican nominee’s frequent use of Lecter’s name last year.
Trump praised fictitious cannibal Hannibal Lecter pic.twitter.com/BbtzKqAksE
— David Leavitt 🎲🎮🧙♂️🌈 (@David_Leavitt) July 19, 2024
He has defended Trump, saying that President Trump is a talented and inspirational storyteller. One of the many ways he engages the public and voters is by making references to popular culture. In contrast, he claimed that Kamala Harris was as relatable as a shabby couch.
Trump has previously mentioned Hannibal Lecter when he has spoken about immigration or mental health, even though his motivation for doing so today was irrelevant.
Social media users, however, think that his purpose in bringing up Hannibal is to provide shock value in order to divert attention away from the conversation about current affairs. His obsession did give rise to several memes and jokes.
In his latest cabinet appointment, Donald Trump has announced that Dr. Hannibal Lecter will be Director of Health and Human Services pic.twitter.com/ujN7n3kjEn
— TheDailyLiberal (@DailyLiberal1) December 15, 2016
It could be a ploy to divert the attention from #signalgate. Or maybe President Trump is old and confused and has no idea what he is talking about.
Either way, Hannibal Lecter would not have appreciated being dragged into politics like this.
