It has been noted that NBC News correspondent Vaughn Hillyard recently mocked former President Donald Trump’s bizarre rally rant regarding Hannibal Lecter during a live hit ahead of bombshell witness Michael Cohen’s testimony via Mediaite.
Trump talked about numerous tangents this weekend at a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey that included remarks about “the late great Hannibal Lecter” — anti-hero of the films and television series’ based on the novels of Thomas Harris. None of those works include the death of the character.
On Monday morning, Hillyard was live at the courthouse for the hush money-election interference trial ahead of the all-important testimony of former Trump attorney/fixer Cohen.
Mika Brzezinski tossed to him on Monday morning’s edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe following a package on Trump’s rally and Hillyard deadpanned a mocking reference to the rant as he set the table for Cohen’s appearance:
LAURA JARRETT: Mr. Trump also pivoting to his favorite campaign topics, including immigration. Invoking another famous criminal.
DONALD TRUMP: Silence of the lambs. Has anyone ever seen silence of the lambs? The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I mean, I guess that’s a joke? (laughs) NBC’s Laura Jarrett with that report. Trying to maybe bring in the hits here.
Let’s bring in NBC news correspondent Vaughn Hillyard, who is live outside the courthouse in lower Manhattan. Vaughn, what are your sources telling you about what we can expect today when Michael Cohen takes the stand?
VAUGHN HILLYARD: I have little information on Hannibal Lecter and his relevance here to the case today–.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Good! (laughs).
VAUGHN HILLYARD: But I can tell you that Michael Cohen will be taking the stand here. And for Donald Trump. You know, you could see that there some relation between the two, because for Donald Trump, this has been a long time coming. His one-time right hand, Michael Cohen, is been led to the point, after hundreds of hours of testifying under oath and providing cooperative testimony to not only federal prosecutors, but state prosecutors. Much of that testimony allowing the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, to even bring this case here to the grand jury last year that led to this indictment.
Michael Cohen, this is the moment in which he was sitting a mere feet away from Donald Trump, is going to testify.
