With friends like these…
During his visit to the National Institutes of Health on Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump touted the apparently excellent relationship he now has with Taliban co-founder and deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, with whom he’d spoken on the phone several hours earlier.
“The relationship is very good that I have with the Mullah and we had a good, long conversation today,” he told reporters. “They want to cease the violence, they’d like to cease violence also.”
Trump said that the U.S. and the terrorist organization “all have a very common interest” because “we’re looking to get this ended.”
On Saturday, Trump signed a peace deal with Taliban leaders in which the U.S. agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
Watch Trump below:
Trump on Taliban leader: "The relationship I have is very good with the Mullah." pic.twitter.com/zXLq76bK8D
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 3, 2020