Billy Long apologizes for joking about Iceland as ‘52nd state’

The former Missouri congressman has been nominated to be ambassador to the Arctic nation.

Former Rep. Billy Long has reportedly apologized after privately joking to House lawmakers that Iceland would be the “52nd state” and he would be its governor.

Long was recently nominated to be ambassador to the island nation by President Donald Trump, who has said he wanted to make Canada the 51st state and is now seeking to take over another Arctic realm, Greenland.

“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 offense to it, then I apologize,” Long told Arctic Today, an Alaska-based nonprofit news site.

Long did not respond to multiple requests for comment from POLITICO. Trump recently named Landry, the elected governor of Louisiana, as a special envoy to Greenland.

Long, who represented a southwest Missouri House district for six terms and served a brief stint as IRS commissioner last year, was visiting former colleagues on the House floor earlier this week. His private quip first reported in POLITICO kicked off a minor diplomatic row, with Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs demanding answers from the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavík over Long’s comments.

Long’s comment appears to have struck a nerve as NATO countries, including Iceland, cringe at Trump’s repeated threats to commandeer Greenland, a Danish territory.

Asked about the “52nd state” remark, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Long was “probably having some fun” and “I wouldn’t read too much into that.”

In the wake of Long’s reported comments, Icelanders launched a petition urging Foreign Minister Katrín Gunnarsdóttir to reject him as ambassador. It currently has 2,000 signatures.