- The claim that Danish officials played “Send in the Clowns” when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived at the signing of a U.S.-Denmark-Greenland agreement is unproven.
- The rumor stems from footage circulating online that social media users claimed showed Rubio entering the signing ceremony on Sept. 22, 2026, as Judy Collins’ song “Send in the Clowns” played in the background.
- Two separate live streams of the event both showed that Collins’ song did play while Rubio entered the signing ceremony with Greenland and Denmark’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs. All three men were in frame while parts of the song that specifically mentioned clowns played.
- Therefore, the choice of “Send in the Clowns” was likely coincidental or accidental. If one delegation had chosen the song to mock another, it did not have the intended effect.
- A spokesperson for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said via email that “Denmark was not involved in selecting the music for the signing ceremony.”
- Snopes will update this report if, or when, additional information surfaces. We asked the White House whether its officials chose the pre-ceremony music and await a reply. In the meantime, we leave this claim unrated.
A claim (archived) circulated online in September 2026 that Danish officials played the song “Send in the Clowns” when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived at the signing of a U.S.-Denmark-Greenland agreement.
The claim circulated after U.S. President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the deal, which sought to end months of diplomatic squabble over Greenland, in New York City on Sept. 22, 2026.
For example, one Threads user wrote, “Listen, I’m not gonna say it’s perfection, but the Danish delegation having ‘Send in the Clowns’ playing on the playlist as Marco Rubio entered to sign Denmark/Greenland stuff is very, very well played.”
Other social media users shared the claim on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), X (archived), and Bluesky (archived). Some of those users posted a video that they claimed showed Rubio entering the room as “Send in the Clowns” played, suggesting Danish officials sought to embarrass or insult him. Snopes readers also contacted us about the claim.
Two separate live streams of the Sept. 22 signing event, which used two separate camera angles, showed that “Send in the Clowns” did play around the time Rubio and Greenland and Denmark’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs Múte B. Egede and Lars Løkke Rasmussen entered the conference room where the ceremony was held.
A spokesperson for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said via email on Sept. 22, 2026, “Denmark was not involved in selecting the music for the signing ceremony.” Snopes asked the White House whether its officials chose the pre-conference music and await a reply.
In the meantime, we leave this claim unrated.
What the streams showed
According to a livestream (archived) of the Sept. 22 signing event shared by MAGNO News, which said it provided “professionally licensed video content from accredited media providers,” “Send in the Clowns” played as attendees at the signing ceremony were finding their seats.
The song started at time code 9:59 in the stream. Rubio, Egede and Rasmussen entered the room around time code 10:59 as Collins sang, “Isn’t it bliss? Don’t you approve? One who keeps tearing around, One who can’t move. Where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns.”
At time code 11:18, the camera panned to Rasmussen as Collins sang, “There ought to be clowns.”
Later, at time code 12:22, Collins sang, “But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re here,” as the camera panned to Rubio and Rasmussen.
Finally, at time code 13:24, Collins sang, “But where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns. Well, maybe next year,” as the camera focused on Rubio and Rasmussen.
Another livestream (archived) uploaded to YouTube by British newspaper The Guardian also included Collins’ music.
“Send in the Clowns” started at time code 5:14 on the Guardian’s stream. Egede and Rubio entered the frame at time code 6:24 as Collins sang “Where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns.”
The song ended at time code 9:10, followed by the announcement and arrival of Trump, Frederiksen and Nielsen at time code 9:46.
Given the above, the choice of “Send in the Clowns” was likely coincidental or accidental. Officials for all three countries signing the deal were in frame while parts of the song that directly mentioned clowns played, meaning that if one delegation had chosen the song to mock another, it did not have the intended effect.
Additionally, Trump, Frederiksen and Nielsen entered the stage right after the song. Again, if one delegation had sought to call the head of another other a clown through Collins’ song, that did not have the intended effect because the heads of all three delegations appeared together.
Greenland deal averts diplomatic crisis
Trump, Frederiksen and Nielsen’s deal for Greenland followed months of threats by Trump to seize the Arctic island. Trump’s wish to gain control of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark, threatened the integrity of NATO in January 2026 when his administration refused to rule out using military force.
Both Denmark and the U.S. are NATO members. The alliance has an article that treats an attack on one member as an attack on all.
Negotiations for a new deal related to U.S. involvement in the island’s affairs began in January and concluded with the signing in September.
According to the Associated Press, the deal allows the U.S. to expand its military presence on Greenland, but affirms the island’s status as an autonomous territory of Denmark as well as Greenland’s right to self-determination.
It also notes that non-NATO countries cannot open military installations on the island.
The Danish parliament will consider the deal, which can only come into force if that parliament approves it.
For further reading, Snopes has previously covered a number of rumors about Greenland.
