USA · 07 September, 2026 · 2 min read
Iceland Summons U.S. Ambassador Billy Long After Trump Posts Stars-And-Stripes Map
Iceland summoned U.S. ambassador after Trump's Truth Social map showed Iceland under U.S. flag. The map also depicted Canada, Mexico, Greenland as U.S. territory, triggering a formal diplomatic protest.
AI/joke and fitness insinuations vs strict no-explanation provocation.
11 of 12 outlets skipped it: mexico response ties timing to September 16 patriot month symbolism.
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France 24
“Online, the map has triggered widespread ridicule and questions about Trump’s fitness for office.”Read the original ↗
France 24 foregrounds an AI and fitness-for-office angle, while Anadolu Ajansı stresses the lack of any Trump explanation.
Trump map sparks backlash
U.S. President Donald Trump posted a map on Truth Social that appeared to depict the United States flag covering the United States as well as large parts of Canada, Greenland and Mexico, with the image shared without any explanation from Trump.
“Trump has shared a map on his Truth Social account that appears to depict much of North America”
The map circulated after Trump shared another graphic that appeared to rename the U.S. state of New Mexico as New America, with the word Mexico crossed out and replaced by America, and the White House had not announced any formal effort to change the state's name.
Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir summoned U.S. Ambassador Billy Long after the post, and the BBC reported that Gunnarsdóttir called the post "completely inappropriate".
The BBC also said the map showed the US, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean covered in stars and stripes, with the entire landmass labelled "United States of America".
Reactions from Mexico
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded on X to Trump’s map by saying her country “is not and will not become a colony or protectorate of another state,” and the LaSexta report said Sheinbaum told X that Mexico will not be a colony of any country.
The BBC reported that Sheinbaum wrote, “Proudly we are a free, independent, and sovereign nation,” after the map post.
In the Independent’s account, Sheinbaum also said in remarks at a press conference on Monday that the U.S. was “a country that is not doing well, that is not leading with power,” as the map triggered a diplomatic incident.
The Independent further reported that Iceland’s Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir summoned U.S. Ambassador Billy Long to “convey a clear message that the image was wholly inappropriate,” and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the Greenlandic government and people had repeatedly said they do not want to be American.
What comes next
The BBC said Trump’s territorial ambitions have repeatedly strained relations with neighbouring countries, including his push to acquire Greenland and calls to make Canada the America's 51st state, and it noted the map did not include a caption.
“The European Commission announced a €200m (£172m) investment in the Danish territory”
The BBC also linked the timing to a European Commission announcement of a €200m (£172m) investment in the Danish territory during a visit by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Frederiksen, with the Commission saying its investment would focus on education, internet connectivity, the use of raw materials and hydropower energy.
Euronews reported that Iceland’s government lodged a formal protest with the United States after Trump shared the map, and it said the image was unacceptable because it showed Canada, Greenland, Mexico and Iceland shaded in stars and stripes and captioned as a single "United States of America".
Euronews added that Icelanders had rejected a government push to resume EU accession talks in a 29 August referendum, and it described how the incident lands awkwardly given Iceland’s reliance on NATO membership and a defence pact with Washington dating to 1951 for protection.