On 6 November 2024, following Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, Afghans from across the political spectrum shared a broad range of reactions on social media. This report provides an analysis of the response from both official and unofficial pro- and anti-Taliban voices.

Official Taliban reactions 

On 6 November 2024, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, Taliban spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shared an official statement on Trump’s victory in Pashto, Dari, and English via his X (formerly Twitter) account, which has 250,000 followers. The post was subsequently reposted by both the Ministry's official account and the Taliban's spokesperson, Mawlawi Zabihullah Mujahid.   

The Taliban's statement, while refraining from congratulating Trump, expressed hope for progress in relations with the new U.S. administration. It emphasised that, like the Doha agreement that ended the Afghan “occupation”, Trump should use his second term to play a constructive role in resolving regional and global conflicts, particularly in Gaza and Lebanon. 

Other pro-Taliban responses

The responses from pro-Taliban accounts on the consequences of Trump’s victory largely touched on three themes:

Dismissing a possible return of U.S. troops

On 6 November 2024, a pro-Taliban X account with over 94,000 followers shared a photo of the remnants of a vehicle allegedly used in a Taliban suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) to attack U.S. forces in Paktia during the previous government. In a apparent response to calls for a new U.S. intervention under Trump, the post stressed the Taliban’s commitment to mutual respect in diplomacy, but also said that any U.S. return would be met with fierce resistance, including suicide attacks.

On 7 November 2024, a pro-Taliban account with over 120,000 followers dismissed the possibility of U.S. troops returning to Bagram (the site of the largest U.S. air base during the conflict) as unrealistic. The account argued that it was Trump, rather than Biden, who had prioritised the withdrawal agreement, even floating the prospect of holding its signing ceremony at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat. 

Another pro-Taliban account with over 91,000 followers posted on 7 November 2024, “Some of our fugitive countrymen are thrilled at the prospect of Trump’s return... These foolish deserters fail to realise that the decision to withdraw American troops was, in fact, made by Trump himself”. 

Several other pro-Taliban accounts with thousands of followers dismissed the idea of U.S. troops returning to Bagram Air Base as unrealistic, arguing that Trump has already "tested" the Taliban and would not redeploy forces. They added that the Taliban were ready to resume fighting in the case of a return of U.S. troops.

Sharing past Trump remarks on the Taliban, conflict and hijabs

Several pro-Taliban accounts, with a combined hundreds of thousands of followers on X, shared past remarks of Trump’s in which he referred to the Taliban as tough warriors who inflicted significant losses on the U.S. They also quoted Trump’s suggestion that warfare was a “hobby” for the Taliban, similar to how others play football.

On 6 November 2024, a pro-Taliban account with over 7,000 followers shared a video from 2016 where Trump says that the U.S. should not interfere with women’s choice to wear veils, calling it a “slap in the face” of exiled pro-Western Afghans.

Some pro-Taliban accounts, meanwhile, quoted Trump’s statements about avoiding new wars and working to end ongoing conflicts. They used these remarks to taunt those who hoped a Trump victory would lead to a return of U.S. troops.

Highlighting the Taliban’s staunch commitment to Sharia

On 6 November 2024, a pro-Taliban X account with nearly 27,000 followers posted an old audio clip from Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, where he asserts that the group will never compromise on Sharia, even in the face of nuclear threats. The accompanying post says that the Taliban will never “negotiate on Sharia” whether “Trump or anyone else” is in power. 

On the same day, another pro-Taliban account with over 23,000 followers posted a video showing a Taliban military convoy that had stopped to allow soldiers to pray, commenting, “Trump’s allies and America’s servants should know that these heroes have no fear of Trump, America or people like you—and they don’t care”.

Other pro-Taliban social media users mainly focused on mocking loyalists of the former Afghan administration, particularly those who migrated to the West after the Taliban takeover. They labelled them "slaves of America" who are living in poor conditions in refugee camps, and suggested that Trump might eventually deport them back to Afghanistan.

Official opposition reactions

On 6 November, the Afghanistan United Front, an anti-Taliban group led by General Sami Sadat, a former Afghan Special Forces commander based in the U.S. who supported Trump’s candidacy, congratulated Trump. The group called for U.S. “political and technical support” to defeat the Taliban through "a renewed partnership and strategic action between the U.S. and Afghan Freedom Forces". On the same day, Sadat told Afghanistan International that “Trump's victory would bring an end to the Taliban's rule”.

On 6 November, the National Resistance Front (NRF), an armed opposition group to the Taliban, also congratulated Trump on his victory. The group expressed hope that the new administration would support and recognise the Afghan people’s resistance against the Taliban, global terrorism, and their legitimate aspirations for a democratic, decentralised, and pluralistic Afghanistan.

On 8 November, the National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan - a political opposition group to the Taliban composed of former jihadi and political leaders from Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, and other ethnic groups - expressed hope that the new U.S. administration would assist Afghans in ending the ongoing conflict to achieve a just peace.  

Responses by other anti-Taliban accounts

Referring to the Taliban's seemingly conciliatory post-election messages, some anti-Taliban X accounts claimed that the group is concerned about Trump’s victory, and is signalling a willingness to adjust its policies if necessary to prevent any further cuts in aid.

On 6 November 2024, prominent Afghan journalist Habib Khan, with over 244,000 followers on X, posted, “Honestly, I don’t think Trump’s comeback to the White House will shake up U.S. policy on Afghanistan. But why does [sic] the Taliban seem so scared”? In response, former Afghan parliamentarian Mariam Solaimankhil, who has over 94,000 followers, quoted his post, adding, “No other candidates ever made bigger threats to the Taliban since the collapse”. 

On 7 November 2024, an anti-Taliban account with nearly 5,000 followers posted a photoshopped image of Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, alongside apparent Taliban fighters in a cave, commenting that Trump’s victory will force the Taliban back to their former mountain hideouts.

Although Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) Afghanistan - a pan-Islamist radical group - did not officially weigh in on the U.S. election, some pro-HuT accounts criticised the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ openness to improved relations with the U.S. They called “any deal and relations” with the U.S. contrary to Sharia, stating that the current U.S.-led world order is on the brink of collapse, while those tied to it would face a similar downfall. 

Remarks

Donald Trump's election prompted diverse responses across Afghan social media. The Taliban cautiously expressed hope for progress in relations with the new administration, while other pro-Taliban accounts dismissed the prospect of a renewed U.S. intervention and reaffirmed their commitment to Sharia law and armed resistance, if necessary. 

In contrast, anti-Taliban groups celebrated Trump's victory as a potential challenge to Taliban rule, with some mocking the group’s perceived anxiety over his return. Meanwhile, HuT supporters condemned Taliban efforts to engage with the U.S. as contrary to Sharia. AW notes that while both pro- and anti-Taliban factions are using Trump’s victory to strengthen their own narratives, the new U.S. administration’s policy on Afghanistan is still unclear.