London defies ‘the man who offends everyone’
Alightning rod was planted firmly in Trafalgar Square yesterday evening in the hulking form of Donald J Trump. The US president himself may have hardly set foot in London as he was whisked via helicopter between Chequers and tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle.
But that did not stop protesters, numbering in their hundreds of thousands, joining the Together Against Trump mass demonstration.
Aside from a separate Women Against Trump march (which started earlier in the day and merged with the later protest), some of those attending were climate activists against Trump, socialists against Trump, pacifists against Trump, LGBT rights campaigners against Trump, Yemenis against Trump, Remainers against Trump, Palestinians against Trump, Canadians against Trump, Germans against Trump, Americans against Trump and a group banging kettle drums called the London Latinos.
“We are here not just because of Trump but because of a world order that is putting our community at risk,” a woman from the group told The Daily Telegraph.
No wonder Mr Trump admitted yesterday that he feels “unwelcome” in London and would be giving the city a wide berth. Daniel Glover even carried a sign reading “You’re the reason we lost the World Cup”.
The 39-year-old from Brighton, who works in advertising, said: “He just manages to offend so many different types of people. At least by turning out to protest it lets him know that it is not OK to speak the way he does.”
The seasoned protesters aside, those on the streets resembled a loose coalition of baby boomers, office workers, students, parents and children, with many attending their first rally. Politicians including Sir Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister, and Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, took part, with the latter addressing the Trafalgar Square crowd yesterday evening, saying: “Human rights belong to all of us.”
They were joined on the march by Laura Carmichael – Lady Edith Crawley in Downton Abbey – holding a banner that read “End Violence Against Women”.
After amassing at lunchtime outside the BBC building at Portland Place, the rally marched down Regent Street before packing out Trafalgar Square and the surrounding streets for the evening rally. The atmosphere was good-natured, with many taking the day off work to join the rally.
Among them was Sam
Bayes, his partner Sophie Tanner and their two-yearold son Hector. “I feel Trump represents quite a lot of negativity and hate, which is having a big impact on the rest of the world,” said Sophie, a charity worker.
Karla Richards, 46, a Californian who has lived in London for more than a decade, came with a banner reading “Horrifed American”. She said: “I have been worried about politics and political leaders before but this is different. I have never felt so scared before.”
Earlier in the day, campaigners were in Parliament Square, filling the “Trump baby” blimp with five huge canisters of helium gas.
The blimp was released at 9.30am to cheers from the crowd and reached a maximum altitude of 100ft hovering over the bronze statues of politicians including Churchill, Gandhi and Mandela that surround the square.
The 20ft inflatable, which depicts the president as a nappy-clad baby holding a mobile phone, cost £5,000 to make and was created by Matt Bonner, 36, a London graphic designer. “Our motivation is quite clearly mockery,” he said. “It is the only language Trump understands.” Despite a warning issued in recent days by the US embassy in London advising its citizens to keep a low profile during the president’s visit for fear of reprisals, many were present in the Parliament Square crowd – among them several Trump supporters.
The blimp was permitted by the Mayor of London to be flown for two hours, but campaigners have been refused permission to take the inflatable to a protest near the Scottish parliament today. Still, they insisted they have received requests from as far away as Australia to fly the baby at future presidential visits.
Further north, the protests continued well into the evening. Last night a protester flew a paraglider over Mr Trump’s Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, just minutes after the American president arrived at the luxury resort from London. Carrying a banner with the words “Trump well below par #resist” and the Greenpeace logo, the demonstrator overflew the property, where Mr Trump is staying for the weekend, despite heavy security.