I have to admit, the United Kingdom's protest game is seriously on point. On July 12, Donald Trump landed in the United Kingdom to meet with Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth for a quick 24-hour visit as a part of his international tour. Well, he won't be alone during his European stint because these photos of the Trump baby blimp in London are absolutely hilarious.
On July 12, Vanity Fair reported that an inflatable balloon of Baby Donald Trump might follow the president during his trip to the U.K. This is arguably both the pettiest and most artistic version of Trump protest that has yet to be born. According to Vanity Fair, the bright orange inflatable blimp is nearly 20-feet tall and is worth nearly $5,000. The city of London got the green light to fly the blimp from London's mayor Sadiq Khan, who allowed the balloon to be tethered in Parliament Square and fly in the air during a two hour window in the early afternoon. Ironically enough, Trump referred to Khan as "ignorant" to host Piers Morgan in May 2016.
So the Trump baby blimp has officially hit London. However, the larger than life demonstration piece isn't stopping in just one city. There's already been a Change.org petition launched asking Scottish Deputy Chief Constable Designate Iain Livingstone to allow the Trump baby blimp to fly over Trump's Scotland golf resort, Turnberry, while Trump plays a round of golf there Saturday, July 14.
Leo Murray, one of the head organizers of the Trump baby blimp, spoke to Vanity Fair on July 12 about Scotland's protest against Trump. According to Murray, the country is excited to stand in "solidarity" with London's recent demonstration.
He said,
People in Scotland are past masters when it comes to protesting against Trump. So naturally they have insisted we bring Trump Baby up from London to fly over his golf course, in solidarity with their struggle against Trump’s hateful politics. We have been delighted to accept their invitation.
Who needs an entourage when you have an inflatable blimp following you around the United Kingdom? Check out these photos of the Trump baby blimp and you'll see what I mean.
The giant, 20-foot balloon floated among protesters at the "Stop Trump" rally near the British Houses of Parliament in the U.K. capital. One of the organizers shepherding the balloon, Sheila Menon, explaining to CNBC why she was protesting.
She said,
Whether it is about racism, treatment of migrants and refugees, the contribution to the refugee crisis, and attitude to climate change, the denial of climate change, misogyny … All of these things are evident in Trump’s policies and this is our opportunity to protest against them.
The Trump Baby Twitter account was created in January 2018, and has since raked up an impressive amount of nearly 26,000 followers. Through their Twitter, the blimp directly communicates to its followers and often sends out tweets asking for support as well as sharing updates to the balloon's next location.
The balloon itself is already quite an impressive act of demonstration, but clearly the founders are taking things up a notch by carefully curating the Twitter account to come across as demeaning. The devil is truly in the details.
Donald Trump's presidency has definitely caused a divide between the American people, but now it looks like even this blimp has people up in arms and taking sides.
On one side, Twitter has shared that they enjoy the large Trump baby blimp, and see it only as an act of peaceful (and creative) protest. In fact, some people even wanted to see this U.K. original hit the skies of the United States.
However, others have claimed that the blimp is "disrespectful" and a "childish" form of protest.
Whether you love it or you hate it, there's no way avoiding it when that blimp is floating in the sky.
Well, seeing as the Trump baby blimp's mission was to rile up Donald Trump, I'd say they completed their mission. On July 12, the day Donald Trump arrived in the United Kingdom, Trump told British newspaper The Sun that he felt "unwelcome" during his stay in London.
He said,
I used to love London as a city. I haven’t been there in a long time. But when they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there? I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London.
I'm a huge fan of free speech and everything, but I have to admit I'd be pretty horrified if there were huge blimps of me floating in the sky. Let's hope in Scotland he can focus on his hole in one instead.
CBS News reported that over 50,000 people were expected at Friday's protests. One of those people, organizer Huda Jawad, said she'd be there for her kids.
"I'm a woman. I'm a woman of color. I came to this country as a refugee ... I also have two boys," Jawad told CBS. "They're growing up in an increasingly uncomfortable, unsafe world and environment, and I wanted to do this for them."
As for Trump himself, he won't have to see much of balloon firsthand, since he'll be meeting with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, far away from Parliament Square.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world will take in the images of the now infamous Trump baby blimp.
