Taliban denies endorsing Donald Trump for US President

The Taliban has denied endorsing Donald Trump
AFP via Getty Images
Emily Lawford12 October 2020

The Taliban has denied endorsing Donald Trump's bid to be re-elected as US President.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban, was reported to have hoped Mr Trump would defeat Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the election, and expressed concern over his health.

CBS News quoted Zabihullah Mujahid to have said during a phone interview: “We hope he will win the election and wind up US military presence in Afghanistan.”

The news outlet also said another Taliban senior leader told them: “When we heard about Trump being Covid-19 positive, we got worried for his health, but seems he is getting better.”

Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh responded that they “reject” the Taliban support, adding: “The Taliban should know that the president will always protect American interests by any means necessary.”

However, the Taliban has appeared to reject the comments, as Mr Mujahid tweeted a “clarification” on Sunday, saying CBS “misinterpreted and misrepresented my words”.

“US news outlet @CBSNews has interpreted and published my remarks incorrectly. Nothing of the sort has been communicated as publicised by them,” he wrote.

Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday that he wants to bring the remaining 5,000 US troops serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas.

The Taliban would likely claim such a move to end 19 years of US military presence in the country as a victory.

The US deal with the Taliban had scheduled the withdrawal of US troops by May 2021, subject to certain security guarantees.

Mr Trump said the US was “dealing very well with the Taliban” after Taliban and Afghan government peace negotiators held their first formal meeting to end two decades of war in September.

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