Former Republican President Donald Trump has once again sparked controversy after weighing in with a delusional take on the crisis in Afghanistan.
According to a recent fundraising email from Trump, the only barrier to the Taliban's increasingly worrying takeover of the country was his tenure as President, and had the 2020 election not been stolen from him, everything would be peas and carrots in the war-torn nation.
The former President even went so far as to claim, as seen in the screenshot below, to have had conversations with Taliban leaders where they told him just that.
What?pic.twitter.com/UJwZeDt3jJ— David Freedlander (@David Freedlander) 1628772380
The brutal and radical militia group controlled Afghanistan prior to an American military takeover in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, which the Taliban helped Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden orchestrate.
Democratic President Joe Biden recently pulled most American troops from the country in order to honor a 2020 peace agreement negotiated by Trump with the Taliban, but not with the Afghan government.
Since that withdrawal, the Taliban has reclaimed large swathes of the country, including three of Afghanistan's most important cultural and economic hubs, the cities of Kandahar, Lashkar Gah and Herat. Only three major cities, including the capital Kabul, remain under control of the Afghan government, all of them in grave danger of falling as well in the coming days or weeks.
But Trump, who now appears to no longer be a fan of the Taliban, claimed in his email that all this drama could have been avoided if he were still in charge because the Taliban likes him better, or something.
As he told his followers:
"Had our 2020 Presidential Election not been rigged, and if I were now President, the world would find that our withdrawal from Afghanistan would be a conditions-based withdrawal."
"I personally had discussions with top Taliban leaders whereby they understood what they are doing now would not have been acceptable.
"It would have been a much different and much more successful withdrawal, and the Taliban understood that better than anyone."
Trump did not specify how or why the Taliban, one of the most brutal regimes in human history, would have had this change of heart if he'd been re-elected.
On Twitter, Trump's delusional email left people absolutely slack-jawed.
He lies. And lies. And lies.https://twitter.com/freedlander/status/1425800820843556870\u00a0\u2026— Gen Michael Hayden (@Gen Michael Hayden) 1628773523
The Taliban leader, he was crying when he told me how much he appreciated what I was doing in his country.— Colin Whitworth (@Colin Whitworth) 1628774083
1. Trump\u2019s withdrawal was not conditions-based. He was withdrawing forces regardless of what the Taliban did or didn\u2019t do. \n\n2. He claimed the Taliban was now our counterterrorism partner, saying they \u201cwill be killing terrorists\u201d & \u201cwill keep that fight going,\u201d which is nonsense.https://twitter.com/freedlander/status/1425800820843556870\u00a0\u2026— Thomas Joscelyn (@Thomas Joscelyn) 1628775494
Trump endorses Taliban, was actually on my bingo card.— Anu (@Anu) 1628775319
Aww. That's cute that Trump thinks his words could hold back the Taliban. DJT is still deluded with the belief he wields power and authority. Just precious.— Kristina Ridgeway (@Kristina Ridgeway) 1628774193
Trump: We\u2019re leaving, but don\u2019t get any ideas.\n\nTaliban: Of course not, sir.\n\nTrump: Thank you. Good luck and best wishes, you\u2019re a beautiful people.— Mike Mitchell (@Mike Mitchell) 1628775709
Good News: It is unlikely that Trump had any conversations with any Taliban leadership.\n\nBad News: Trump, most Congressional Republicans, and the league of reprobates who consider themselves Trump's loyal disciples applaud the idea of the POTUS conversing with terrorists.— Mary Buggie-Hunt (@Mary Buggie-Hunt) 1628774784
remember when Crooked Donnie was gonna secretly meet with the taliban at camp david?\n\nwhat IS it with that guy and authoritarians?— Kaya Jade (@Kaya Jade) 1628772272
It's also worth reiterating that the 2020 election was not rigged and Trump lost by a substantial margin in what experts in both parties have called the most secure election in American history.
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