For a brief moment, Donald Trump seemed—despite everything—like a completely new man.
Speakers throughout the final night of the Republican National Convention told us that the assassination attempt on his life changed the 45th president’s outlook and approach to politics. It unified him.
“He rejected the most obvious opportunity in politics to anger the nation after he was shot,” former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in his speech Thursday night, hours before Trump took the stage. “In that moment, he did his best to unite the country.”
Then, deep into his detailed speech, Trump started talking about Hannibal Lecter.
“The press always picks on me for saying this,” he began in a sidenote. He knew this wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned Hannibal, but he couldn’t help it. “Has anyone seen The Silence of the Lambs ? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’d love to invite you over for dinner.”
Great movies certainly bring people together. Trump’s fascination with pop culture dominated the final night of the Republican convention, with a shirt-ripping performance by the wrestler known as Hulk Hogan and a musical performance by Kid Rock before Trump was introduced by Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White. But this was, once again, a random inclusion of Trump’s fascination with the character played by Anthony Hopkins across three films. The 45th president, and current Republican nominee, referred to Lecter as a “wonderful man” in May, while again citing his famous quote about taking a friend “out to dinner.”
In both cases, Trump’s invocation of Lecter was intended to demonstrate that crime in America is out of control—and that potential Lecters, including the immigrants Trump is intent on forcibly deporting, live among us. There is certainly a touch of childishness to this imaginative ability, given another set of circumstances: Trump has always struggled to distinguish what is on screen from what is real. After all, his entire career has been about becoming a star, owing to his fascination with the media and culture industries.. Why couldn't Hannibal Lecter just be another character who could, presumably, cross the line and start devouring others?
Perhaps one of Trump’s most sympathetic traits is his appetite for popular movies—a lover of big, broad entertainment. In a 1997 New Yorker article, a writer accompanied Trump on a plane and watched him watch only the highlights (or, rather, the most violent fights) from the Jean-Claude Van Damme film “Bloodsport.”
So it’s no surprise that Trump recalled parts of The Silence of the Lambs that involved Hannibal’s actions, and his big, funny quote. It’s also no surprise that he thinks the character is a sympathetic embodiment of how crime works in the real world. Hannibal Lecter is a supervillain—incredibly cunning, with an appetite beyond what we consider human, and a unique way with words. He’s the perfect imagined opponent for a presidential candidate who sees himself as extraordinarily intelligent (rather than just lucky after all he seemed to have done to get through the 2016 election) and extraordinarily well-spoken (rather than finding a good line every now and then in an incredibly long nomination acceptance speech). In Lecter, Trump has found a villain whose outsized brutality matches Trump’s perceived heroism, and his ability to take on any villain—whether real or part of our collective imagination.
If the Trump vs. President Biden debate is unsatisfying—if it ultimately feels a bit too easy—there is always the imaginary challenge of chasing Hannibal Lecter across the border. And perhaps those who fear Trump’s return should be glad that at least some of his focus is on Hannibal, and that the lambs haven’t stopped crying yet.
