Joe Biden says Taliban are in ‘existential crisis’

Mr Biden also pushed back against concerns about the treatment of women and girls in the country, arguing that it’s “not rational” to try to protect women’s rights around the globe through military force.

Taliban fighters display their flag on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan (Rahmat Gul/AP)

President Joe Biden said the Taliban have not changed but are going through an “existential crisis” about whether they want legitimacy on the global stage as they have taken over Afghanistan.

In an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America, Mr Biden said that he is “not sure” the Taliban want to be “recognised by the international community as being a legitimate government”.