Trump calls Hannibal Lecter a ‘wonderful man’ at New Jersey rally
Donald Trump turned up the invective and profanity for a huge rally crowd in New Jersey when he repeatedly blamed “total moron” President Biden for the criminal charges against him.
Trump said that “weak and pathetic” Biden was “only good at cheating at elections” as he vented at “fascists” and “lunatics” he said were running the country.
Banned from commenting on witnesses and jurors by a Manhattan court where he is on trial on charges of falsifying business records, Trump claimed that “highly conflicted” Judge Juan Merchan and “fat Alvin” Bragg, the district attorney, were “doing the bidding for crooked Joe Biden”.
Trump listed his achievements when he was president at the New Jersey rally
The rally crowd in Wildwood, New Jersey, a conservative area of a Democratic-controlled state, was estimated at between 80,000 and 100,000.
“Everything they touch, turns to what?” Trump asked.
“S**t!” the crowd shouted back. “You can’t use the word s**t.” Trump, 77, said.
He added: “I’ve been indicted more than the great Alphonse Capone Scarface … On bulls**t, just bulls**t.”
The crowd chanted back “bulls**t”.
Trump’s main insults were reserved for Biden, saying he was able to “speak freely” because the 81-year-old president targeted him with the legal system “to try and win votes”.
The attorney-general, Merrick Garland, was branded the “most grossly incompetent man in government” by Trump
He faces four criminal cases, two of them brought by a special counsel appointed by Biden’s attorney-general, Merrick Garland.
“You don’t do that to your political opponent … that’s when I call him the most grossly incompetent man in government, the worst president ever of any country, the whole world is laughing at him, he’s a fool,” Trump told the crowd.
“He’s not a smart man, he never was. In prime time he was considered stupid. I talk about him differently now because now the gloves are off. You could take the ten worst presidents in the history of our country, add ‘em up … they haven’t done the damage to our country that this total moron has done.”
Trump said that “other country leaders who I know, they laugh at him”.
He dismissed record employment figures as “fake”, saying that Biden’s “job numbers are fake, they’re rigged numbers. The one thing that’s doing well is the stock market … because I’m leading in every single poll. If this election wasn’t won by us you’d see something like in 1929”.
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Trump praised the North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, stirring speculation that he is on his shortlist for running mate or a cabinet role. “You won’t find anybody better than this gentleman,” Trump said. “He made his money in technology but he probably knows more about energy than anybody I know. So get ready for something, OK? Just get ready.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump denied a report by Axios that he was considering picking as running mate Nikki Haley, his strongest primary opponent. “Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well!” he wrote.
Another target was Chris Christie, a former New Jersey governor who also opposed Trump for the Republican nomination. He recalled how Christie was called “a fat pig” by someone at a previous rally.
Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, also addressed the crowd at Wildwood
“I said, ‘You cannot call Chris Christie a fat pig … because you’re not allowed to use the fat word.’ You know you can use almost any word but you can’t use the fat word — it’s career ending,” Trump said. “We’re all fat.”
Trump also brought up Hannibal Lecter, the fictional serial killer from Silence of the Lambs played by Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 film, apparently as an example of migrants entering the US.
“Has anyone ever seen The Silence of the Lambs? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man,” Trump said. “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 walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that have been released into our country that we don’t want in our country, and they’re coming in totally unchecked, totally unvetted. And we can’t let this happen.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s wife Melania put out a statement withdrawing their son Barron, 18, as a delegate for his father at the Republican party convention. The Florida party said last week that Barron was adopted after he expressed an interest.
In a statement from her office, the former first lady said: “While Barron is honoured to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida Republican Party, he regretfully declines to participate due to prior commitments.”