NEWSMAX
- Trump referred to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada as 'Mohammed' at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona.
- He then proceeded to imitate Akhundzada by making grunting sounds, videos show.
- During the rally, Trump also recalled threatening to bomb the village Akhundzada lived in.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Former President Donald Trump imitated the leader of the Taliban and referred to him by the wrong name while speaking at the "Rally to Protect Our Election" in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday night.
At the rally, which marks Trump's first trip back to Arizona since the presidential election, the former president recalled a conversation with Hibatullah Akhundzada from during his presidency.
"I told the Taliban, I spoke to the leader, and I spoke, I said, 'let's call him Mohammed,'" Trump said. "I said, 'Mohammed, we're leaving.'"
-Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 25, 2021
Trump later impersonated Akhundzada by making grunting sounds. "He's a tough guy," the former president added.
"Not a lot of social grace, but he was being nice, I think he was being as nice as he could be."
"That's all they do is fight," he continued.
-Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 25, 2021
The former president then proceeded to recall a threat he claimed he issued to the Taliban's leader.
"We're going to come back and hit you harder than any country has ever been hit," he said. "And your village, where I know you are and where you have everybody, that's going to be the point at which the first bomb is dropped."
The crowd then burst into applause.
Trump had a telephone conversation with Akhundzada, who has been the leader of the Taliban since 2016, in March 2020. At the time, he described it as a "very good talk."
He told reporters that both parties wanted an end to the violence, the Independent reported, but just hours later the US military conducted an airstrike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.