MaddowBlog-Why Billy Long's 'joke' about Iceland becoming an American state was not well received

[LetMyPeopleVote]

“These words of Billy Long … may have been said in half-hearted terms, but they are insulting to Iceland and Icelanders,” a local petition read.

Last week, Billy Long, Trump’s spectacularly unqualified nominee to serve as US ambassador to Iceland, “joked” about Iceland becoming the 52nd state. tinyurl.com/48js5d4p

It’s a detail that seems newly relevant this morning.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-01-21T15:51:45.598Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-billy-longs-joke-about-iceland-becoming-an-american-state-was-not-well-received

Given former Rep. Billy Long’s record, it was never altogether clear why the White House chose him to lead the Internal Revenue Service. The Missouri Republican was outrageously unqualified, he was plagued by serious controversies, and he was on record trying to eliminate the agency he was nominated to oversee....

How’s that working out? It could be better. Politico reported:

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 said in a statement.

Evidently, Long recently ran into Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who’s also serving as Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, at which point the former congressman joked about making Iceland the nation’s 52nd state. (Canada, evidently, was envisioned as the 51st state.)

The attempt at humor was not well received. Politico’s report noted that Icelanders launched a petition urging Foreign Minister Katrín Gunnarsdóttir to reject him as ambassador.....

Long backpedaled soon after, telling Arctic Today, “If anyone took offense to it, then I apologize.”

Whether this affects Long’s confirmation remains to be seen (he’s still awaiting a vote in the Senate), but it’s worth appreciating the context: Icelanders might have been inclined to shrug this off if the increasingly imperialistic Trump administration hadn’t already launched an effort to acquire Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and the Gaza Strip.

Given this context, it’s tough to blame Iceland for expressing discomfort with Long’s undiplomatic “joke.”

[wcmagumba]

1. Another non-apology apology, he's a jerk just like t-rump and any other Republican...

How are these people raised to be like this? My momma woulda smacked his widdle fee fees...