National news media miss the point: “The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man.”
Trump, Bashing Migrants, Likens Them to Hannibal Lecter, Movie Cannibal
Donald Trump, at his rally in New Jersey, used an extended riff about the 1991 film “The Silence of the Lambs” to demonize migrants at the border.
That was Michael Gold at The New York Times on Sunday, normalizing the unbelievable.
The story isn’t that Trump compared migrants to a fictional cannibal (and not for the first time).
It’s that Trump spoke as though The Silence of The Lambs was a documentary:
“Has anyone ever seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man,”
There is no way to honestly report those words other than as the unhinged mind that they reflect:
The former president, Donald Trump, praised a fictional cannibal from a 33-year-old movie as though the film had been a documentary.
Also missing from mainstream reports:
A confused Trump says Chinese president Xi Jinping has “ships circling” Beijing. He likely confused Beijing with Taiwan.
Also from last night's rally, Trump called President Carter, “Jimmy Connors.”
Trump is not well. pic.twitter.com/BHyMxbLsDU
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 12, 2024
Forbes wins the headline contest
The headline that did the least normalization came from Forbes (Molly Bohannon):
The Guardian was a close runner up (Edward Helmore):
News stories perpetuate lies
Trump repeatedly lies about immigrants.
And the national media report those words as though they are truth.
But this?
This is madness.
This is “the emperor has no clothes” craziness treated as just another campaign soundbite.
It is not clear what Mr. Trump meant by “late, great,” given that neither the character — nor the actor who played the role — have died, in person, film or the books the character originated from.
The Washington Post ignored the crazy and focused on “vulgar jabs.”
Should Trump return to the White House in 2025, news media will be culpable.
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