The balloon floating over London. Photo: AFP
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https://scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2155074/baby-blimp-makes-me-feel-unwelcome-london-complains-trump-blaming Europe
That baby balloon makes me feel unwelcome in London, complains Trump, blaming mayor
‘I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London’
Protesters gather around a giant balloon caricature of Donald Trump in Parliament Square, London on July 13, 2018. Photo: AFP
Demonstrators planned to mock US President Donald Trump with a giant balloon depicting him as a screaming orange baby on Friday as tens of thousands march through the streets of London to protest the American leader’s visit to Britain.
The nappy-clad infant, with a quiff of hair and a mobile phone for tweeting, is expected to soar over the Houses of Parliament, the centrepiece of demonstrations protesting Trump’s policies.
“This was just a bunch of friends who got together in a pub,” said Kevin Smith, one of the 16 people behind the balloon. “This is what people need to be doing – to come together in their communities to organise and work out how to stand against right-wing populism and xenophobia that we’re seeing not just in the US but in Europe.”
Protest organisers said they plan to demonstrate in some 50 cities around Britain.
The balloon in Parliament Square. Photo: Reuters
“We hope that wherever Donald Trump goes, he hears and sees the strength of a British opinion that rejects not just him as a person and however distasteful he is as a person, but the policies and politics that he represents,” said Asad Rehman, organiser of UK Protests Against Trump’s Visit.
Trump, in an interview with Britain’s Sun newspaper, criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying he had not been “hospitable” to the US government. Khan refused to block the Trump baby balloon.
A ‘baby’ balloon hovers near the statue of Winston Churchill in London. Photo: AP
“I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London,” Trump said in an interview published on Friday.
The 6-metre (20-foot) tall balloon’s creators admit they borrowed the idea from comedian Jon Stewart, who in 2016 called Trump a “man-baby”. A crowdfunding campaign raised £20,000 pounds to make it a reality.
“Depicting Trump as a baby is a great way of targeting his fragile ego, and mocking him is our main motivation,” said Matthew Bonner, one of the organisers. “He doesn’t seem to be affected by the moral outrage that comes from his behaviour and his policies. You can’t reason with him but you can ridicule him.”