Trump blasts idea he is in cognitive decline (then says Hannibal Lecter was a real person)

Donald Trump dismissed the idea he has cognitively declined seconds before claiming Hannibal Lecter and the film “Silence of the Lambs” are “real stories.”

“You know, they go crazy when I say, ‘the late great Hannibal Lecter, ’ OK, they say, ‘Why would he mention Hannibal Lecter ? He must be cognitively in trouble,’” Trump said at a Charlotte, North Carolina rally this week.

“These are real stories. Hannibal Lecter from ‘Silence of the Lamb’ is a lovely man,” he continued. “He wants to have you for dinner. He’d like to have you for dinner.”

Hannibal Lecter is a fictional cannibalistic serial killer created by novelist Thomas Harris. The character was featured in Harris’ 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs. Then, Hannibal Lecter was played by actor Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 film adaptation of the same name.

This isn’t the first time Trump has brought up the fictional character. Trump used Hannibal Lecter as an analogy to vilify migrants during his Republican National Convention keynote address earlier this month.

“You know, the press is always on me because I say this [...] Has anyone seen Silence of the Lambs? The late great Hannibal Lecter. He’d love to have you for dinner. That’s insane asylums, they’re emptying out their insane asylums.”

Hopkins was reportedly appalled by the connection .

Then, at a New Jersey rally in May, the former president asked if anyone in the audience had even seen “Silence of the Lambs.”

“The late, great Hannibal Lecter,” Trump said. “He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walks by.”

Trump has also previously slammed the idea he is in cognitive decline, repeatedly bragging that he has “aced” cognitive tests. Earlier this year, the former president forgot the name of his White House doctor as he bragged about his mental acuity .

“I took a cognitive test, and I aced it. Doc Ronny — Doc Ronny Johnson,” Trump said, attempting to refer to Ronny Jackson , former White House physician turned congressman

“Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, Congressman from Texas? He was the White House Doctor,” Trump continued.

The former president made a similar claim in January .

“I don’t know if you saw, but a few months ago, I took a cognitive test my doctor gave me ,” he said. “I said, ‘give me a cognitive test, just so we can you know,’ because you know what the standards were, and I aced it.”