WASHINGTON—President Trump has reportedly been stuck in a customer support loop for months after first attempting to opt out of the war in April 2026.
Unable to successfully unsubscribe via Truth Social posts, Trump has been passed from chatbot to chatbot, department to department, been put on hold, and had the line go dead immediately after the call centre manager asks “How may I help you?”
A recent White House press release explained the ongoing war was due to Iran’s deliberate use of dark patterns to hide the opt-out button.
The Pentagon is calling Iran’s use of deceptive design an act of psychological warfare, accusing the regime of deliberately manipulating the president into continuing a war he has repeatedly tried to get out of. After the Pentagon’s top UX Specialist spent three months failing to find the cancel button, Trump summoned Bezos to the Oval Office for IT support.
After breezing past various snares, Bezos made it to the inner labyrinth of the cancellation process. Modelled on Amazon’s UX design, Iran uses multiple coloured buttons to misdirect the user. “Cancel War” was in pale grey, “Escalate Conflict” in bright green.
At time of publishing, the US has just signed up for another two years of war with Iran.