Iceland’s foreign ministry has contacted the US Embassy in Reykjavik seeking clarification after reports that US ambassadorial nominee Billy Long joked about Iceland becoming part of the United States, Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported on Thursday.
According to Politico, Long, a former US congressman nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as ambassador to Iceland, made the remarks during a meeting in Washington, saying Iceland could become the 52nd US state and that he would serve as its “governor.”
The foreign ministry said it reached out to the US Embassy to verify the accuracy of the reported comments, stressing that the matter was being examined.
Neither Long nor the US administration has publicly confirmed or denied the remarks, and his nomination has yet to be approved by the US Senate.
‘Reject Long’s appointment’
The reported comments have triggered a public backlash in Iceland, where a petition urging Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir to reject Long’s appointment has gathered more than 2,500 signatures.
The petition calls the remarks insulting to Iceland and its people, citing the country’s long struggle for independence and its history as a close ally of the United States.
The episode comes at a sensitive moment in transatlantic relations, as tensions have risen following renewed US rhetoric over Greenland, the self-governing Danish territory that President Trump has previously said the United States should acquire for strategic reasons.
