Iceland demands answers from US after Trump ally cracks 52nd state joke

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Politico (EU)

January 15, 2026 3:33 pm CET


First Greenland, next Iceland? Reykjavík is concerned about America’s growing territorial ambitions, after POLITICO reported that President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Iceland Billy Long joked in Washington that Iceland will be the 52nd U.S. state and he’ll be governor.

“The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has contacted the U.S. Embassy in Iceland to verify the veracity of the alleged comments,” Iceland’s foreign ministry told POLITICO in a statement.

Long is a former Republican congressman from Missouri whom Trump nominated to become the new U.S. envoy to Iceland, replacing Carrin Patman. In the wake of Long’s reported comments, Icelanders launched a petition urging Foreign Minister Katrín Gunnarsdóttir to reject him as ambassador. It currently has 2,000 signatures.

“These words of Billy Long, who Donald Trump has nominated as ambassador to Iceland, may have been said in half-hearted terms, but they are insulting to Iceland and Icelanders, who have had to fight for their freedom and have always been a friend of the United States,” the petition says. “We want Þorgerður Katrín [Gunnarsdóttir] to reject Billy Long as ambassador to Iceland and call for the United States to nominate another man, who will show Iceland and Icelanders more respect,” it adds.

Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/iceland-us-ambassador-billy-long-donald-trump-52nd-state/

[maxsolomon]

1. "Trump Ally"?

Try "Ambassador Nominee"

[BumRushDaShow]

2. He was confirmed as IRS Commissioner and served for 2 months

before being shoved out the door.

[maxsolomon]

3. Got the Bum's Rush, then?

What a sad joke.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. He sure did

and that may happen again!

[WSHazel]

4. Denmark should ask for an insane number

$1trillion for the island plus 30% of all revenue from resources, and $10 million for each resident.

Make Trump look like a punk when he can't follow through on the deal, or make him look like a punk when he wildly overpays.

[popsdenver]

12. Wrong

the RepubliCONs would gladly buy it, occupy it, and then never, in reality, pay a dime........

Worst of all, the RepubliCONs would then think they were justified to "ANNEX" Canada as well......

It's all of their intentions to establish a NEW WORLD ORDER......

Russia gets Europe and Africa
China gets all of Asia
U.S. gets all of North and South America.

The best part being they will all agree on it, become allies instead of enemies, therefore they all can get rid of their needs for Defense Spending, and these leaders pocket their empires entire Defense Budgets, which are humongous.......

How about that for speculation of where this is inevitably headed???????

[WSHazel]

16. Russia is almost a failed state

They are never taking over anything.

China is in a better place, but it has major economic problems and its vaunted growth, which was always a bit of a shell game, is grinding down.

[SomewhereInTheMiddle]

17. A perspective from Africa ...

I was in Addis Ababa recently where I visited the African Union HQ. It looked like a smaller version of the UN HQ. It was built by Chinese companies backed by the Chinese government. And they had signs everywhere - in Chinese and English - making sure the world knew who had built it. They even included a large pagoda on the site.

The Chinese had also bought (or were given, I heard both) most of the surrounding blocks of property and had built or were building large apartments and shopping buildings to make back whatever money they had spent.

All around Africa I see Chinese actively involved in large building efforts and growing development projects. They also have territorial and security agreements with many African governments as part of their Belt and Road Initiative.

I see very little Russian activity or involvement - some, but not much.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. Russia (as part of the USSR) was there with infrastructure back in the '60s and '70s

one of their major achievements being the Aswan Dam (which I did get to see when I was in Egypt just over 30 years ago), completed under Sadat.



They haven't done much "infrastructure" since, and definitely nothing on the order of "Belt and Road". If anything, they used their proxies, like Cuba, to do that sort of thing on the continent of Africa. I expect some of that was the result of the break-up of the Soviet Union and now having certain critical "resources", unavailable to what because "Russia" (leading to that push to "take it all back" ).

They did seem to focus more on their space program, but even that has been losing steam. And then of course, there is their military.

[JohnnyRingo]

23. That sounds like a game of Risk.

Quiet deals made in the kitchen that come to fruition on the game board.
The problem is, the game will continue until there are two. Then one of those two will turn on the other.

At least that's how it went every time I played.

[karynnj]

25. One look at what Trump is doing in MN shows they don't eliminate defense spending

They use it to control their empire.

[thomski64]

26. ..and rename it EPSTEIN Island..

[LymphocyteLover]

5. Trump is seriously mentally ill and needs to be removed from office ASAP, and this Long guy really needs to stop sucking

orange mushroom dicks

[orangecrush]

9. ..

[thomski64]

27. ..can' t quite recall..

..how did Anwar Sadat step down?

[Paladin]

6. Billy Long's ambassadorship ought to be history.

Here's hoping (but not particularly expecting) that somebody with half a brain cell working will take his place. Joking about Iceland becoming the 52nd U.S. state? How stupid, and how utterly humiliating.

[PJMcK]

11. It isn't diplomatic (n/t)

[AverageOldGuy]

8. Clearly neither Trump nor the fools who advise him . . .

. . . recognize that any territory that becomes a state IMMEDIATELY GETS TWO U.S. SENATORS AND AT LEAST ONE REPRESENTATIVE (more depending on the population of the territory) and if these places are forced into the Union he can be assured all of them will be DEMOCRATS.

Iceland plus Greenland equals FOUR NEW DEMOCRATIC SENATORS AND AT LEAST TWO DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVES, plus a lot of pissed off voters.

[popsdenver]

13. Of course

there is NO Judicial Branch of Government, nor a Legislative Branch of Government in a dictatorship/tyranny......

I think everyone keeps missing that un-tidy little detail.....

[gordianot]

10. Billy Long known in Springfield area as Jabba the Hut.

[70sEraVet]

14. The 'Ambassador' probably doesn't know the difference between...

Iceland and Greenland. He's been wondering why he hasn't met with any officials of Denmark yet.

[Cha]

15. My Sister in Asheville, NC went to Iceland

with her Family last year to see the Northern Lights, and submerge in the Thermal Hot Springs... They adored it, of course.. and it's a Country I always wanted to go to but I enjoyed it thorough their Wonderful Experience!

I'm going to call her now and tell her about this.

Mahalo, BRDS

[BumRushDaShow]

24. I was wondering if 45 would ever get around to Iceland

given the climate there is like the opposite of Greenland!

[KS Toronado]

19. Hello......

[riversedge]

20. A lawmaker joking about invading another country should retire IMHO

[JohnnyRingo]

22. Don't yell fire in a crowded theater, and don't joke about war when you have nukes.

Even Putin, Xi, and Un know that.