‘Send in the Clowns’: Viral video fuels claims Denmark trolled Trump and Rubio

The United States, Denmark and Greenland signed an agreement Tuesday expanding the US military footprint in the Arctic territory, reached on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly after months of tension between Washington and Copenhagen over Greenland's future. Footage showing Judy Collins' rendition of the Broadway song "Send in the Clowns" playing as delegates entered the signing ceremony spread widely online, with a clip on X drawing more than a million views and further circulation on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Instagram. Because the lyrics beckon clowns to appear, many users read the music as a pointed insult aimed at the American delegation, with some praising it as clever trolling and others sharing AI-generated images mocking US officials as clowns, according to France 24.

France 24 reviewed multiple livestreams of the ceremony, including footage from MAGNO News and a separately angled recording from The Guardian, and confirmed the song genuinely played and the viral clip had not been altered. Denmark's and Greenland's ministers walked in alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meaning any intended message would not have singled out the United States alone. A spokesperson for Denmark's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country was "not involved in selecting the music," and the United Nations, contacted by fact-checking outlet Lead Stories, said the event had been organized by the US mission rather than the UN itself. No evidence has emerged that Denmark intentionally chose the song, and it may simply have played by coincidence.

Summarized by PolitiKool from France 24’s reporting. Read the full story at France 24 →