# Donald Trump and Hannibal Lecter. What's up with this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** movies, trump\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762 "2024-07-25T04:10:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/61 "2024-07-26T14:18:52Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > He’s not for them, he doesn’t give 2 shits. Will not work for them. Would cross the street if he saw them coming down the sidewalk. Trump treats everyone and everything like he treats golf. You get in a golf match with Trump, he’ll try to cheat and he’ll welch on the bet if you win. He has done this consistently, his one consistent play is to take advantage of people who rely on “norms” that people “always do.” There are always new people that will fall for this con. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/62 "2024-07-26T14:31:00Z")
If he jumps the line to get ahead of you and you don’t stop him, he thinks it proves that he’s smarter than you. I presume the professional psychologists have a word for that. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/63 "2024-07-26T15:00:32Z")
It all makes sense now! Well, maybe not. > **[Why is Donald Trump so obsessed with Hannibal Lecter?](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/jul/25/donald-trump-hannibal-lecter)** > > The former president continues to bring up the fictional killer at rallies. Anthony Hopkins is ‘appalled’ while everyone else remains confused … > **Trump keeps unlocking Captain America-style supersoldiers to do his bidding every time he mentions Lecter** > > Which leaves just one explanation. “The late great Hannibal Lecter, he’s a lovely man, he’d love to have you for dinner,” is actually a trigger sequence for an army of insurrectionist sleeper agents who have been brainwashed by Russian scientists, and once they’ve heard him say it 35 times they’ll burn Washington to the ground. This is almost certainly the case, and may God have mercy on all our souls. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/64 "2024-07-26T16:27:48Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Trump keeps unlocking Captain America-style supersoldiers to do his bidding every time he mentions Lecter It makes as much sense as any other theory I guess. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/65 "2024-07-29T14:28:22Z")
I just came across [this video](https://youtu.be/MWT_tTZ1MpA) in my YT feed, with a possible explanation as to what exactly is up with trump’s constant referencing of Hannibal Lector. It’s only a minute and a half, but if you don’t want to watch the video, the theory is that trump is conflating the two meanings of asylum: one of which is immigrants seeking asylum, and the other being insane asylums, and trump keeps claiming that other countries are emptying out theirs to send the patients to the U.S. And in trump’s weird word salad associations, what well-known fictional character escaped from an insane asylum? Why, Hannibal Lector, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/66 "2024-07-29T14:30:44Z")
That still doesn’t account for how Trump seems to think that Hannibal Lector is good, though. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/67 "2024-07-29T14:37:57Z")
I think that part of it is just trolling us anti-trumpers. But trying to figure out exactly what trump is trying to get at with the crazy word salad free association riffing he does makes my head hurt. I’m still puzzling over the ‘boat battery vs. shark’ thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/68 "2024-07-29T14:52:33Z")
That one can be understood, if you dumb it down enough. Electric vehicles = bad. Sharks = bad. Boats sinking = bad. Therefore electric boats makes the boat sink and everyone gets eaten by sharks. It still doesn’t work with Lector, though. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/69 "2024-07-29T14:56:21Z")
Maybe Lector/Lecter = good because face-eating leopard = good? _I didn’t think Hannibal Lecter would eat **my** brain!_ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/70 "2024-07-29T14:59:01Z")
> [@susan](#): > > _I didn’t think Hannibal Lecter would eat **my** brain!_ And with ketchup instead of fava beans. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/71 "2024-07-29T15:35:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Therefore electric boats makes the boat sink and everyone gets eaten by sharks. I thought it was, “if the electric boat sinks, the boat will electrify the water which will be instant death for anyone who falls/jumps in too near the boat. To avoid this they swim away from the boat (to where the sharks are).” It’s a pretty standard “I don’t like new things, so I’m going to pretend they are death traps because of convoluted scenario that I made up” story. In the same line as, “windmills cause cancer” and “seat belts might jam as you are sinking into a lake” stories. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/72 "2024-07-29T15:48:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That one can be understood, if you dumb it down enough. Electric vehicles = bad. Sharks = bad. Boats sinking = bad. Therefore electric boats makes the boat sink and everyone gets eaten by sharks. > [@leahcim](#): > > I thought it was, “if the electric boat sinks, the boat will electrify the water which will be instant death for anyone who falls/jumps in too near the boat. To avoid this they swim away from the boat (to where the sharks are).” Well, similar to the oddity of trump seemingly depicting Hannibal Lector as good, the thing that perplexes me about the boat battery vs. shark thing is that, at least in the version I heard, he depicts dealing with the shark as the worse fate-- “I’ll take electrocution every single time”. You’d think, since the point is to denigrate electric vehicles, he’d say “I’ll take my chances with the shark”. But, trying to suss out logic in the things he says is a fool’s errand. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vL3UmTInva8/hqdefault.jpg "Trump's Shark vs. Battery Mad Ramble") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL3UmTInva8) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/73 "2024-07-29T15:52:04Z")
Also, I love how in that ‘Shark vs. Battery’ clip he twice says about the unnamed guy he’s talking to in the anecdote “he said ‘nobody ever asked me that question before’”. Yeah, I bet no one ever did 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/74 "2024-07-29T16:00:27Z")
Here’s my guess. One of Trump’s speechwriters probably wrote a joke about Hannibal Lecter that made sense. But when Trump was delivering the speech he got confused and screwed up the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/75 "2024-07-29T16:05:16Z")
I’m waiting for the future anecdote Trump will share about when Hannibal Lecter fought an electric shark. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/76 "2024-07-29T16:22:34Z")
_The Silence of the Mechajaws._ It’ll do fantastic business with incredible ratings! Why hasn’t it been made, yet? ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/77 "2024-07-29T16:23:54Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Here’s my guess. One of Trump’s speechwriters probably wrote a joke about Hannibal Lecter that made sense. But when Trump was delivering the speech he got confused and screwed up the joke. And like every good comedian, when a joke falls flat, he immediately tries to tell it again in a different way so that maybe they’ll get it _this_ time. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/78 "2024-07-29T16:24:19Z")
“I’ll take electrocution every single time” Okay, then. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/79 "2024-07-29T16:45:12Z")
Maybe if he shoots someone on 5th Avenue… ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762/80 "2024-07-29T16:57:57Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I think that part of it is just trolling us anti-trumpers. Even Trump seems to be saying this now (of course, he is probably just covering for saying stupid shit) You know what would REALLY trigger me and a bunch of anti-trumpers? If he started each rally by punching himself in the balls. Really hard. Boy that would really make me mad. And if he slammed his head on the podium, that would just infuriate me. Man, I hope he does not do these things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-hannibal-lecter-whats-up-with-this/1004762.md?page=5)