Trump’s nominee for Iceland envoy apologises for joking the Nordic country should be US’ 52nd state
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Mr Billy Long apologised for his remarks, saying they were made in jest, soon after a petition was launched in Iceland to reject him as ambassador.
PHOTO: AFP
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US President Donald Trump’s nominee for American ambassador to Iceland apologised on Jan 15 after he angered the Nordic country by saying it should be a US state.
Mr Billy Long, a former Republican congressman from Missouri, made the comment during a meeting with members of Congress in Washington on the night of Jan 12.
He said the remarks were made in jest soon after a petition was launched in Iceland to reject him as ambassador.
“There was nothing serious about that. I was with some people, who I hadn’t met for three years, and they were kidding about Jeff Landry being governor of Greenland, and they started joking about me and if anyone took offence to it, then I apologise,” he told Arctic Today, a news website that covers the region, referring to Mr Landry’s appointment as US special envoy to Greenland on Dec 21.
News outlet Politico broke the story on Jan 14 in its newsletter, reporting that Mr Long had joked Iceland would become the US’ 52nd state and that he would be made governor.
His comments did not sit well with the Icelandic government.
The Foreign Ministry has contacted the US embassy in Iceland “to verify the veracity of the alleged comments”, it told British newspaper The Guardian.
Mr Sigmar Gudmundsson, an Icelandic MP, said Mr Long’s comments amounted to fundamental disrespect for the sovereignty of small nations.
“It goes without saying that this is extremely serious for a small country like Iceland. We must realise that all the security arguments that the Americans make against Greenland also apply to Iceland,” he told a local newspaper on Jan 15, in reference to Mr Trump’s threats to seize Greenland
The online petition by Icelanders called on Foreign Minister Katrin Gunnarsdottir to reject Mr Long as ambassador. He has not been confirmed by the US Senate for the job.
“These words by Billy Long, who has been nominated by Donald Trump as ambassador to Iceland, may have been spoken in jest, but they are insulting to Iceland and Icelanders, who have had to fight for their freedom and have always been friends of the United States,” the petition reads.
The petition has garnered 4,000 signatures since it was launched on Jan 14, with many backing the call for the US to “nominate another person who shows greater respect for Iceland and the Icelandic people”.
Mr Long’s comments come at a sensitive time for Arctic nations, after Mr Trump’s repeated threats to take over Greenland
The US leader has said Greenland is vital to US security and that Washington must own it to prevent Russia or China from occupying the strategically located, mineral-rich island in the future.
White House officials have discussed various plans to bring Greenland under US control, including using military force or issuing lump-sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark.
Greenland, Denmark, and several other European countries have pushed back against the annexation threats.
