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ISIS Calls Trump 'Idiot' in First Message Addressing New President

The 36-minute audio released by ISIS spokesman Abu Hasan al-Muhajir appears to be the first time they have referred specifically to Trump since he took office.
Image: A member loyal to the ISIL waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa
A member loyal to ISIS waves its flag in Raqqa June 29, 2014.Stringer / REUTERS

The terror group ISIS in new audio released Tuesday called President Donald Trump an Arabic term that means "idiot" and said he doesn’t know anything about Islam, according to various translations.

It appears to be the first time the terror group has referred to Trump since he took office. ISIS controls parts of Iraq and Syria, and is currently being targeted by a U.S.-led coalition.

The 36-minute audio was released by ISIS’ spokesperson, Abu Hasan al-Muhajir. The previous spokesman and the group’s second-in-command, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, was killed in an airstrike in Syria last year, ISIS and the Pentagon have said.

The ISIS statement calls the United States "bankrupt" and says: "the sign of your elimination are now clearer to everyone, as the most clear of signs is that you are now ruled by a stupid idiot who does not know what Sham and Iraq are, or what Islam is, who continues to express his hatred and war against."

Other translations of the statement replaced "stupid idiot" with "riff raff" or "harebrained"

Al-sham is a term the group uses to describe a region that includes Syria. One of the names used by ISIS is "the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, although it also calls itself Islamic State. Some opponents call it Daesh, which is seen a derogatory term in Arabic.

Trump has pledged to "totally obliterate ISIS," which swept across parts of Iraq in 2014. It also controls part of Syria, and its headquarters are in Raqqa.

Trump's opponent in the election, Hillary Clinton, and other critics have called Trump's statements on Islam and his plans to temporarily restrict entry to the United States from some predominantly Muslim nations as a gift to ISIS, which seeks to portray a battle between Islam and the West.

The ISIS statement released Tuesday does not appear to directly refer to Trump's stated immigration policy executive order covering some Muslim nations, which critics have called a "travel ban." But the propaganda did say Trump has expressed his "hatred and war" against Islam.