Billy Long’s joke about Iceland becoming the 52nd US state has angered Icelandic officials and citizens, who demand an apology.
Trump’s Man: Iceland Will Be the 52nd State of USA
On Tuesday (January 13) during a session of the US House of Representatives, future US Ambassador to Iceland Billy Long, former congressman from Missouri, delivered a speech. “We heard that former Congressman Billy Long, Trump’s candidate for ambassador to Iceland, joked that Iceland would become the 52nd state and he would become its governor” – Politico reported.
The day before, Republican Randy Fine had submitted a bill to Congress, according to which Greenland would become the 51st state of the USA.
Iceland Angered. “These Words Are Offensive”
“However, this ‘joke’ did not sit well with Iceland, especially – as Politico emphasizes – in the face of growing tensions regarding Greenland. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the US embassy in Iceland to verify the authenticity of these comments” – the Icelandic ministry reported.
Meanwhile, Icelanders created a petition calling on the head of the Foreign Ministry to reject Billy Long’s ambassadorial candidacy. “These words (…) are offensive to Iceland and Icelanders, who had to fight for their freedom and have always been friends of the United States” – reads the letter, which was signed by over 3.2 thousand people within a few hours.
They also called on the minister to “appeal to the USA to nominate another person who would show more respect to Iceland and Icelanders.”
Future Ambassador Apologizes. “If Anyone Felt Offended…”
In an interview with Arctic Today, Billy Long apologized for his joke. “There was nothing serious about it. I was with some people I hadn’t seen in three years. They were joking that Jeff Landry is the governor of Greenland and started joking about me. If anyone felt offended, I apologize” – he said.
“I apologize and that’s my only comment. I look forward to working with the people of Iceland and I apologize that it was received this way” – he added.
