Trump's Iceland Ambassador Pick Sparks 52nd State Joke
William Long, Trump's nominee for Iceland, joked it should be the 52nd US state, sparking backlash.
On Jan 16 2026, CBC reported that William Long, the former Missouri congressman nominated by President Donald Trump as the U.S. ambassador to Iceland, joked during a Senate hearing that Iceland would become the U.S. 52nd state and that he would serve as its governor. The quip sparked immediate outrage in Reykjavík, prompting a petition that reached 5,000 signatures within two days and calls from Icelandic MP Sigmar Guðmundsson and Foreign Minister Katrín Gunnarsdóttir to withdraw Long’s nomination. Long issued a brief apology on Thursday, describing the remarks as a half‑hearted joke in response to a prior comment about the Greenland governor. The incident comes amid Trump’s ongoing threats toward Canada, Greenland and Arctic geopolitics.
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