Donald Trump’s giant baby blimp is let loose over London
A giant balloon portraying an angry baby-version of US president Donald Trump is flying high in central London right now.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan gave permission for the mini-blimp earlier this month – a “six-metre-high, orange, inflatable baby with a malevolent face and tiny hands,” according to organisers – to fly 98 feet above the ground, so long as it is held down by ropes.
The giant ‘Trump Baby’ coincides with Trump’s four-day state visit to the UK, and is currently sailing over Parliament Square in central London.
The US president’s trip to Britain is being met with mass protests across the country.
We have take off!
Giant #Trumpbaby blimp is being flown over London by protesters #TrumpUKVisit
Follow the latest here: https://t.co/ztoPS1G2Ss pic.twitter.com/hb6exfV9qZ
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 13, 2018
On Friday, drag queens and kings will descend on central London for a ‘Drag Protest Parade‘ against Trump.
They will meet in Soho, before protesting down Shaftesbury Avenue and joining the Women’s March London ‘Bring The Noise’ parade through to Parliament Square.
Khan has repeatedly spoken out against Trump, criticising his “ignorant” Muslim ban, his lack of respect for LGBT people and for “playing into the hands of Daesh” with his hateful comments.
The blimp is intended to make fun of the US President (Trump Baby/crowdfunder)
The US President also sparked a backlash from author JK Rowling, among others, when he lashed out at Khan immediately after a London terror attack last year which killed seven people and left 48 injured.
The nappy-wearing balloon version of Trump, which will soar over the capital for a couple of hours, features the US president holding a mobile phone, which he is often pictured holding.
Leo Murray, who came up with the idea for the Trump Baby, managed to get £22,000 in crowdfunding – and 10,000 signatures on a petition asking for permission to fly the blimp over London.
Murray told BBC News that Trump “really seems to hate it when people make fun of him.”
Trump has repeatedly targeted LGBT people with his legislative decisions (Justin Sullivan/Getty)
He reported that he and his fellow organisers “didn’t get off to the best start with the mayor’s office over this, who originally told us that they didn’t recognise Trump Baby as legitimate protest.”
But, Murray added, Khan’s administration had eventually “rediscovered its sense of humour – Trump Baby will fly”.
An artist’s impression of the protest (Trump Baby/crowdfunder)
A statement sent on behalf of the Mayor of London said that he “supports the right to peaceful protest and understands that this can take many different forms.”
In response to the news, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage tweeted that the balloon protest is “the biggest insult to a sitting US President ever.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has repeatedly spoken out against Trump (Jack Taylor/Getty)
The amount raised by the Trump Baby crowdfunder means that the balloon will be following the President around the globe, organisers have said.
They wrote that “people have been SO generous and supportive that we now have WAY more money than we can sensibly spend just on Trump’s UK visit in July! So – Trump Baby is going on World Tour!
The Trump Baby’s going on a world tour (Trump Baby/crowdfunder)
“All the details are still TBC but once little Donald has been run out of Britain in July, we will start to put together an itinerary – so if your community is unlucky enough to be expecting a visit from the orange sex pest, please get in touch after the 14th.
“We now plan to keep this crowdfunder rolling so that we can cover the shipping and helium costs to get #TrumpBaby to follow little Donald around the world, haunting his diplomatic engagements wherever he goes!”
They added that Trump Baby “can become a permanent feature of this dreadful Presidency, a constant, unmissable reminder of the contempt with which this embarrassment of a man is held by everyone outside of his deranged, bigoted base.
“If we can troll Donald from the skies wherever he goes for long enough, he’ll start seeing #TrumpBaby in his dreams! Every penny and cent we receive from here on in will go towards making this vision a reality.”
