Donald Trump on Wednesday twice denied accusations that he is “cognitively challenged” and “cognitively in trouble” during a rally in Charlotte.
Early in the speech, he delivered a shoutout to Lara Trump ― his daughter-in-law, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, and a North Carolina native ― in the middle of a sentence blaming Vice President Kamala Harris for inflation.
“As vice president, [Harris] cast the tie-breaking votes that created the worst inflation in a half a century, decimating middle class families and hurting very badly as you know all people in North Carolina, and by the way Lara says hello,” Trump said. “Lara. Do we love Lara? How good is Lara? She is terrific.”
He said he had to mention her at that point “because if I forget it later on they’ll say ‘He’s cognitively challenged.’ I don’t want to be cognitively, no, but I want to thank her because she’s unbelievable.”
About 45 minutes later, the speech took a strange turn when he brought his cognition up again as he turned to one of his favorite topics: Comparing migrants to Hannibal Lecter, the fictional serial killer from the “Silence of the Lambs” franchise.
“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. “No, no, no. These are real stories, Hannibal Lecter from ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ he’s a lovely man he wants to have you for dinner he’d like to have you for dinner.”
Trump has faced growing questions over his mental acuity, with author Ramin Setoodeh saying last month he found the former president exhibiting “severe memory issues” during their six interviews. Business leaders who met with Trump recently complained he was “meandering” and “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Earlier this year, Trump confused former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as his ambassador to the United Nations and was running against him for the presidential nomination, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Trump and his campaign insist the former president is healthy.