- A Taliban spokesman said the group supported the election of President Donald Trump on Friday, according to CBS News.
- “When we heard from Trump about being COVID-19 positive, we worried about his health, but he seems to be recovering,” a senior leader said, according to the report.
- Tim Murtuf, Trump’s re-election campaign director, told Insider he denied the group’s support.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A Taliban spokesman said the group supported the election of President Donald Trump on Friday, according to CBS News.
“We hope he will win the election and end the US military presence in Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the Associated Press.
Mujahid reportedly added that he had approved the Trump campaign’s “America First” slogan. Trump has mentioned this sentence in numerous speeches during his presidency and campaign.
“Trump’s motto from the beginning is that he is not a cops for the world and he does not want a single flag and song for the world, but his priority is America,” Mujidesh told CBS News.
Another senior leader of the group said he became concerned after the US president tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month.
“When we heard about Trump being Covid-19 positive, we were concerned for his health, but he seems to be recovering,” the senior leader told CBS News.
A senior Taliban member also added, according to the report: “Trump may be ridiculous to the rest of the world, but he is a sensible and sensible man for the Taliban.”
Afghan Taliban fighters.
AP Photo
Tim Murtuf, Trump’s director of re-election communications, vehemently denied the group’s statements and slammed former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We reject their support and the Taliban should know that the president will always protect American interests in any way necessary, such as Biden who opposed the ouster of Osama bin Laden and Qasim Soleimani,” Murtu said in a statement to Insider.
The militant group’s statement came as Trump announced on Wednesday that he wanted to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by the end of the holiday season.
“We should have the number of our brave men and women serving at home in Afghanistan through Christmas,” Trump said. Tweeted.
It is not clear how many U.S. The army is left; However, the US Central Command, the military command responsible for the region, said earlier that it expects about 4,500 troops in Afghanistan by November.
Following Trump’s tweet, Mujahid called the move a “very positive step,” according to the Washington Post.
U.S. military officials were hidden from Trump’s Twitter announcement, a sentiment prevalent throughout his presidency. Republican lawmakers and former military leaders also expressed frustration over the withdrawal deadline, with many predicting that the withdrawal of the U.S. would increase the terrorist group.
Meanwhile, peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are ongoing. In February, the U.S. signed a peace agreement that included measures to withdraw all forces from the country in exchange for security guarantees. But the effectiveness of the peace deal has been called into question by the Taliban’s continued violence against Afghan forces.
