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https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2155538/trump-baby-may-fly-over-us-activists-raise-funds United States & Canada
‘Trump baby’ may fly over US, as activists raise funds for blimp’s tour
First stop would be Bedminster, New Jersey, home of a Trump golf course that the president visits regularly
The ‘Trump Baby’ blimp, shown as it lifted off from Parliament Square in London on Friday, may be headed for the United States. Photo: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg
The blimp portraying Donald Trump as a snarling baby that flew over London last week during the US president’s visit to the United Kingdom could soon be in New Jersey’s skies after activists said they had raised enough money to bring it to the United States.
Anti-Trump activists by Monday morning had raised more than US$7,000 on GoFundMe.com, more than the $4,500 they had said they needed to get the diaper-wearing helium balloon to Bedminster, New Jersey, home of the Trump National Golf Club that the president regularly visits.
After meeting the fundraising goal in two days, organiser Didier Jiminez-Castro urged donors to share any extra funds with @babytrumptour, which intends to take the blimp to US cities including St. Louis, Missouri, and Austin, Texas.
“He mention(ed) he does not feel welcome with the Baby Trump in display and we need to get under his skin as much as we can,” Jiminez-Castro said on the GoFundMe page. “We are the unpaid Resistance.”
During his first official visit as president to the United Kingdom, Trump said he avoided London because of the blimp and the tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets to decry his administration’s policies.
“I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London,” the Sun newspaper quoted Trump as saying.
Trump on Monday met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the last stop on an overseas tour in which he criticised Nato allies for failing to spend enough on their armed forces and embarrassed British Prime Minister Theresa May by saying she had refused to take his advice about Britain’s exit from the EU. He referred to the European Union as a “foe” in trade.
Jiminez-Castro told New Jersey media that he expects the blimp to be in Bedminster, a suburb about 35 miles (56km) west of New York City, by mid-August. He could not be reached for immediate comment on Monday.
It’s unclear whether Trump will actually see the blimp since the Federal Aviation Administration places flight restrictions on the airspace over Bedminster whenever the president visits his golf course.
An FAA spokesman referred questions about the blimp to the US Secret Service. Officials there did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Bedminster Township Administrator Judy Sullivan said that no local permits are required for flying a blimp.