Donald Trump has told members of the US military positioned across the globe that they are winning big under his presidency.

Mr Trump said in a teleconference with the troops on Thanksgiving Day that more progress has been made in recent months in Afghanistan and in fighting the Islamic State group than had been made in years of the previous administration.

He said of the situation in Afghanistan that: “Everybody’s talking about the progress you’ve made in the last few months since I opened it up.”

Mr Trump accused the previous administration of not allowing soldiers on the ground to do their jobs. But he said that now, “We’re not fighting anymore to just walk around, we’re fighting to win”.

“We’re being talked about again as an armed forces. We’re really winning,” he added. “They weren’t letting you win.”

Mr Trump described the troops as “very, very special people” to him and everyone else in the US during the conference call from his private club in Palm Beach, Florida.

He tweeted before the call that he would be speaking to soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq, on the USS Monterey, and in Turkey and Bahrain. He also tweeted that he would be visiting a Coast Guard facility in Florida later in the day

Earlier on Twitter, Mr Trump boasted about his achievements so far in the White House.