In re: Hannibal Lecter [View all]

[PCIntern]

In the pantheon of fictional sociopaths, Thomas Harris achieved the pinnacle of same with his remarkable character of Lecter. Gifted beyond comprehension, educated and well-read in classical and modern literature, history, and current events, medically trained, aware of the vagaries and distinctions between classes and castes, and horrifyingly charismatic, he is the ultimate formidable villain .

I am virtually certain that Trump never read the series of books, but he probably saw at least one of the films, and remarked to himself, and probably anyone else who would listen, that the persona of Lecter, the gestalt, would be the highest achievement of any individual. For Trump, Lecter is equivalent in his sphere of Jesus or Gandhi in a normal person’s mind.

One of the aspects of the series is that Lecter was in fact apprehended, stood trial, and was sentenced to a psychiatric institution from which he managed to brilliantly engineer an escape and continue his behaviors elsewhere, defeating in the most horrifying manners all who came to destroy him. He has been stated by many to be the most villainous individual in cinematic history.

This entire oeuvre appeals to Trump who believes that as a “stable genius” on trial for a crime he knows he committed and for his personal knowledge of the existence of crimes and deeds of which the general public knows nothing, he is capable of equaling the notoriety of this psychopath and has drawn many parallels between himself and Lecter. The difference between them of course is that Lecter was a character created to possess an extraordinary intellect whereas Trump simply believes that he is incredibly brilliant, manipulative, and shrewd, the truth being quite to the contrary.

Finally, Trump’s quotation “the late, great, Hannibal Lecter” implies that the character exists as a real individual within Trump’s maladaptive psyche. And you know what they say: neurotics build glass houses and psychotics live in them.