January 16, 2026, 11:11 amJanuary 16, 2026, 11:11 am
On Wednesday evening (Swiss time), Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen met with US Vice President JD Vance and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio. This to discuss the future of Greenland.
A few hours earlier, US politician Billy Long joked in the Senate that Iceland would be the 52nd US state. He also said that the future governor of this state would be Long himself.
Former U.S. Rep. Billy Long.Image: keystone
US President Donald Trump had previously nominated Billy Long as the new ambassador to Iceland. Billy Long, actually William Hollis Long, was a US representative from the state of Missouri in the House of Representatives until August 2025. This was reported by the US news portal “Politico” first.
Iceland’s reaction
The Icelandic Foreign Minister, Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, immediately contacted the US Embassy, she said in a statement “The Guardian” writes. This was to inquire whether this joke had actually been made.
The Icelandic Foreign Minister, Katrín Gunnarsdóttir. Image: keystone
In addition, a petition called on the Foreign Minister to reject Billy Long as Ambassador to Iceland. The petition says the statement is offensive to Iceland and the Icelandic people. Even if the statement was meant as a joke, as the Icelandic people had to fight for their freedom in the past.
Within a few hours, 3,200 people had signed the petition. On Wednesday, Long reportedly apologized to the news website Arctic Today. The medium quoted Long as saying: “The comments were meant to be joking, as others had made jokes about Jeff Landry, Trump’s US special envoy to Greenland.”
Long admitted to the medium that he understood why he triggered such reactions. However, he insisted on the fact that it was a joke and should not be taken seriously in any way. (nib)
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