President Donald J. Trump announced that he had what he described as a “very good call with Hezbollah,” a group officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department. The remark, made through a post quoting Open Source Intel, sparked immediate online reactions highlighting the obvious incongruity.

“I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back. Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with…”

The post and the quoted context emphasize the bizarre optics of a sitting U.S. president claiming a productive interaction with an FTO.