Donald Trump appeared to praise the Taliban in the wake of their victory in Afghanistan, referring to them as "smart" and "good fighters."
The ex-POTUS made the comments during an appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News program on Tuesday, August 17 - just days after the insurgents rapidly seized control in the country's capital Kabul, forcing President Ashraf Ghani to flee.
Trump told Hannity, per Business Insider: "The Taliban, good fighters, I will tell you, good fighters. You have to give them credit for that. They've been fighting for a thousand years. What they do is they fight."
He added: "The Taliban has circled the airport, and who knows if they're going to treat us right? All of a sudden, they'll say - well, frankly, if they were smart, they'd really - and they are smart. They are smart. They should let the Americans out."
Ultimately, Trump's claim that the Taliban has been fighting for a thousand years is incorrect - regardless of how adept he thinks they are in combat.
According to CNN, the militant group was founded in September 1994 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Made up of fighters known as the mujahideen, the extremist organization took over Kabul in 1996 before being ousted in 2001 after US intervention in the conflict.
Elsewhere in his discussion with Hannity, Trump referred to President Ghani as a "total crook".
He said: "Now, I never had a lot of confidence, frankly, in Ghani. I said that openly and plainly I thought he was a total crook."
Trump then said that Ghani "spent all his time wining and dining our senators."
He added: "The senators were in his pocket. That was one of the problems that we had. But I never liked him... He got away with murder in many, many different ways."
It goes without saying that he is also critical of his successor President Joe Biden and his handling of the US troops' withdrawal from the region.
He said: "He surrendered to the Taliban, who has quickly overtaken Afghanistan and destroyed confidence in American power and influence."
The former president added: "The outcome in Afghanistan, including the withdrawal, would have been totally different if the Trump Administration had been in charge. Who or what will Joe Biden surrender to next? Someone should ask him if they can find him."