ALL EXCITED AS ‘BABY TRUMP’ TAKES FLIGHT
Protesters send pouty message that US president is not welcome in UK
THE most anticipated instalment of Britain’s “Stop Trump” protests — a giant orange balloon of President Donald Trump depicted as a pouting baby in a diaper and holding a smartphone — took flight yesterday from Parliament Square here.
As if they were waiting for a rocket launch, dozens of excited people, including activists, tourists, children and bystanders taking time out from their commutes, gathered around the 5.8m balloon and counted down from 10 before it was released into the air.
“This is a victory,” said Leo Murray, an activist and creator of the balloon.
“People love it, he hates it, and it’s driven him out of London.”
Murray and other activists behind the inflatable “Trump Baby” had called the balloon a “symbol of resistance”, aimed at sending the United States president a clear message that he was not welcomed in Britain.
“The only way to get through to him is to get down to his level and talk in a language he understands — one of personal insults.”
Thousands of demonstrators were preparing for a national rally here at 2pm to protest Trump’s policies.
But not everyone was enthusiastic about the balloon.
Lucy Lawson, an American expatriate, came to see it because it was close to her work, but while she opposed Trump’s policies, she said the protest was childish.
Trump spent the night at Winfield House, the American ambassador’s residence here, where protesters said they had aimed to keep him awake by banging pots and pans, and playing recordings of crying children separated from their parents at the Mexican border.
Yesterday morning, Trump and his wife, Melania, headed to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for a military display, and travelled later to Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence, for talks with Prime Minister Theresa May.