Reykjavík is demanding answers after a report that President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as U.S. ambassador to Iceland made a joke in Washington about adding the Nordic nation as an American state.

Politico reported that Billy Long — Trump's pick for the ambassadorship — quipped that Iceland would become the 52nd U.S. state and that he would serve as governor.

Iceland's Foreign Ministry said it has reached out to confirm what exactly was said.

"The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has contacted the U.S. Embassy in Iceland to verify the veracity of the alleged comments," according to Politico.

Long, a former Republican congressman from Missouri, was nominated by Trump to become the new U.S. envoy to Iceland to replace Carrin Patman.

The reported remarks have sparked backlash inside Iceland, including a petition urging Foreign Minister Katrín Gunnarsdóttir to reject Long's appointment. The petition currently has more than 3,000 signatures.

According to data from the World Health Organization, the population of Iceland in 2025 was 398,000.

"These words of Billy Long, who Donald Trump has nominated as ambassador to Iceland, may have been said in half-hearted terms, but they are insulting to Iceland and Icelanders, who have had to fight for their freedom and have always been a friend of the United States," the petition read.

"We want Þorgerður Katrín [Gunnarsdóttir] to reject Billy Long as ambassador to Iceland and call for the United States to nominate another man, who will show Iceland and Icelanders more respect," it added.

Long's joke landed as U.S.-European tensions remain elevated over Greenland — a self-governing Danish territory — after Trump has threatened to seize it, potentially using military force, while arguing the U.S. "has to have Greenland for national security."

Politico also reported that European leaders have been backing Greenlanders — who have repeatedly said they don't want to join the United States — while pursuing a deal to avoid a broader confrontation that Denmark has warned could jeopardize the transatlantic NATO alliance.

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