Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently hosted a rally on the New Jersey shoreline and likened immigrants to the 'late, great Hannibal Lecter' from 1991's Silence of the Lambs.
In response, the Oscar-winning producer Edward Saxon refuses to take this lightly and expresses just how wrong this reference was.
Donald Trump References Hannibal Lecter in His Jersey Shore Rally Speech
Trump claimed that Venezuela's crime rate is 72% down "because they took a lot of their criminals and moved them" to the U.S. (which is actually a lot smaller than his numbers).
Not to mention, Venezuela, as the Former President continued, "is emptying out their mental institutions into the United States."
It is worth mentioning that the Former President made the same statement about the South American mental institution last year, and had no evidence to prove his statements. The same goes for his claims on Venezuela's case.
Somehow, with "taking people from insane asylums," the Former President praised the fictional cannibal serial killer, Hannibal Lecter, during his weekend campaign speech in New Jersey.
"Silence of the Lambs! Has anyone seen it? The late great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man," Trump said, playing a joke afterward on Hannibal's cannibalism by congratulating him, for some reason.
Keep in mind that the Hannibal Lecter was in prison in Silence of the Lambs, not in a mental institution.
The authorities determined any other facility would be unsafe for Lecter and eventually decided to put him in a former courthouse and jail.
Right after, Trump mentioned how immigrants are being "released into our country that we don't want in our country."
Trump continued to describe immigrants keep "coming in totally unchecked, totally unvetted," which he "can't let this happen."
"We can't let this happen. They're destroying our country, and we're sitting back," Trump added, "And we better damn well win this election, because if we don't, our country is going to be doomed."
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Silence of the Lambs Producer Slams Trump's Statement
Silence of the Lambs producer Edward Saxon doesn't let Trump's words hang in the air and addresses it on his own.
Saxon acknowledges that while Lecter feels like a "kindred spirit" for being able to see through people's motivations and control them, comparing immigrants to the evil cannibal doesn't sit right with him.
"Comparing people who are looking for a better life in America, like my grandparents did, to a serial killer, is just wrong," Saxon said.
Exploring Hannibal Lecter's Real-Life Inspiration
Hannibal Lecter was based on a few serial killers who share their motivations behind choosing their victims. However, the notorious character was inspired by a real-life case of Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño.
Thomas Harris, aka the novelist of Silence of the Lambs, previously worked as a journalist for Argosy.
He visited Doctor Alfredo in a prison in Mexico to interview Dykes Askew Simmons, an American who allegedly killed three Mexican siblings.
As it turns out, the murderer's real name was Doctor Alfredo Ballí Treviño, an accomplished surgeon who murdered his colleague and alleged boyfriend, Jesus Castillo Rangel.
Treviño never denied the charges against him dismembering Rangel and burying his parts in a small box in his aunt's backyard. Treviño eventually got released from prison after serving 20 years in prison and died in 2009.
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