Donald Trump pleased thousands of his political supporters at the weekend when he returned to Arizona for a rally, delivering a two-hour speech focused on bashing the Democrats and stirring up trouble with the Taliban.

Referring to the organisation’s leader, Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the former president appeared to forget his name – instead telling the 5,000-strong crowd he would just “call him Mohammed”.

Citing America and Nato’s withdrawal agreement from Afghanistan, Mr Trump said: “I told the Taliban leader, I spoke to the leader and I said – let’s call him Mohammed – I said, ‘Mohammed, we’re leaving.”’

He went on to impersonate Mr Akhundzada, performing a series of grunts to the jeering crowd, telling them: “He’s a rough man.”

Mr Trump characteristically used the gathering to blast the “disgraceful” 2020 election, repeating previous and already debunked claims about votes being “stolen” from him.
 However, on a night many believed he would announce plans for a political comeback at the 2024 presidential election, Mr Trump stopped short of making any such promise. Instead, he moved to criticise his opponent Mr Biden’s first few months in the Oval Office.

“They’re saying it was the worst [first] six months in the history of the presidency,” he said – without explaining who “they” are. “I don’t know if that’s true but I’d say it is,” Mr Trump added.

On the subject of coronavirus, Mr Trump said not only that he “came up with the vaccine” but that he believed in people’s “freedoms” if they did not want to take it.

Finishing by congratulating himself, Mr Trump added: “But just so you understand, [the vaccine] was a great achievement.”