A BLIMP depicting Donald Trump as a screaming baby in a nappy is flying over London in protest at President Donald Trump's visit to the UK. Here's what we know about the pump up Trump and the protest. 2 The Donald Trump blimp goes up in Parliament Square on Friday morning Credit: Reuters What is the Donald Trump balloon? The balloon, which portrays the US leader with a “malevolent face and tiny hands” while wearing a nappy, will be tethered in Parliament Square Garden, and cannot be raised higher than 30 metres. The group behind the stunt - who call themselves anti-fascist "art activists" – say they have approval from the Metropolitan Police too. One of the activists, Leo Murray, told Sky News: "We didn’t get off to the best start with the Mayor’s office over this, who originally told us that they didn’t recognise Trump Baby as legitimate protest. "But following a huge groundswell of public support for our plan, it looks like City Hall has rediscovered its sense of humour. Trump Baby will fly!” 2 Demonstrators claim the 'mutant clone' of the President will show that 'fascists are not welcome in the UK' Credit: AP:Associated Press How big is the balloon? Campaigners have raised more than £16,000 to pay for the six-metre inflatable, and thousands signed a petition requesting it be allowed to fly. The group said they wanted to make sure when he arrives “he knows that all of Britain is looking down on him and laughing at him”. The decision to allow it to fly is the latest salvo in a long-running feud between Mr Khan and Mr Trump. Just last month the Labour mayor issued a thinly veiled warning that the President will face angry protesters when he came to London. And in a world exclusive interview with The Sun, Mr Trump criticised London's Mayor for failing to stand up to terrorists. 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The 20ft-high blimp floated 98ft above Parliament Square Garden on July 13, 2018, and you could see it from around that area of Westminster. Tory MPs have branded Mr Khan “childish”. Philip Davies said: “He seems to be more interested in sidling up to Labour groups like Momentum than delivering on the best for the British economy.” And editor of the website Spectator USA Freddy Gray wrote this scathing criticism of the balloon stunt. Mr Trump is expected to be 40 miles away at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country house in Buckinghamshire, at the time.<doc-sep>LONDON — A week before President Trump’s working visit to Britain, the mayor of London has allowed an additional participant in the city’s welcome reception: a giant orange balloon of the president depicted as a baby in a diaper. The balloon was approved amid “Stop Trump” protests planned for the visit starting on July 12. Activist groups and trade unions organized an online petition calling on the mayor to allow the effigy to be flown over Parliament. It drew over 10,000 signatories. Mr. Trump’s visit to Britain was originally scheduled to coincide with the opening of the new United States Embassy in January, but it was abruptly canceled with a message on Twitter from the president saying he did not want to inaugurate the building because the Obama administration had paid too much for it. British and American officials speculated that the real reason Mr. Trump had pulled out of the trip was because of the risk of large-scale protests.<doc-sep>British protesters are pulling out all the stops in preparation for President Donald Trump’s visit to the U.K. next week, including flying a giant “Trump baby” balloon over London’s Parliament Square. The balloon—which stands nearly 20 feet high—resembles a very orange Trump grimacing while wearing only a diaper and holding a smartphone in his disproportionately small inflatable hand. The balloon was OK’d by London Mayor Sadiq Khan after more than 10,000 people signed a petition and crowdfunded more than £18,000 (about $23,000) to get the inflatable off the ground. Advertisement The balloon will fly for two hours on the morning of July 13, which coincides with Trump’s visit and a Stop Trump march in central London. HUGE news coming in: DONALD J TRUMP BABY WILL FLY! @SadiqKhan tried to play hard ball - in the end he had to make a Deal. No surprise - he's never won anything in his life! Sad - but True! London here I come! https://t.co/j3KCPimHI2 pic.twitter.com/oc2VKWKSN1 — Trump Baby (@TrumpBabyUK) July 5, 2018 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leo Murray, part of an “art activist” group of friends who created the balloon, explained the group’s logic behind the protest in an article in Metro. Murray categorized Trump as “a man who lacks the capacity for moral shame.” Murray and his friends reasoned that, to “really get through to Trump, you have to get down on his level and talk to him in a language he understands: personal insults.” And thus, the idea for the giant Trump baby balloon was born. Initially, it looked like the Trump baby balloon would not be allowed to fly. Officials in the London mayor’s office told the group that the inflatable did not qualify as a legitimate protest, instead classifying it as art. In response, the balloon’s creators launched a petition urging Mayor Khan to approve the balloon. In less than three weeks, the petition garnered thousands of signatures, and the mayor’s office reversed course and gave permission for the balloon to fly. Advertisement “The Mayor supports the right to peaceful protest and understands that this can take many different forms,” a spokesperson for Khan told Sky News. “His city operations team have met with the organisers and have given them permission to use Parliament Square Garden as a grounding point for the blimp.” In addition to the Trump baby balloon, several other anti-Trump protests are planned for the duration of Trump’s U.K. visit. Murray is optimistic about the Trump baby balloon’s success. “Ridiculing tyrants and despots is a proud British tradition,” Murray said. “If this generation is going to have to fight fascism again, we may as well have a bit of a laugh while we are doing it.”<doc-sep>What is #SadiqKhan doing in allowing a giant baby #Trump balloon to fly over #London when the #USA #President arrives? It's juvenile, disrespectful and offensive. There are ways to demonstrate. This is not one of them. Grow up Mayor!<doc-sep>
Expect to see a 20-foot balloon of an angry, orange, diaper-clad baby that resembles Donald Trump soar over the British Parliament Square on July 13—the day of the U.S. president’s visit to the U.K.’s capital. The blimp, dubbed “Trump Baby,” was approved by none other than London Mayor Sadiq Khan himself after a crowdsourcing campaign amassed over $20,000 and 10,000 signatures in favor of the stunt. Set to fly above Parliament Square Gardens between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., coinciding with a “Stop Trump” march held in the city center, the balloon is required to hover a maximum of 98 feet above ground, tethered by a rope. “The Mayor supports the right to peaceful protest and understands that this can take many different forms,” a spokesperson for Mayor Khan said. “Sadiq’s main priority is the safety of all Londoners and visitors to our city, and, as always, we are working in very close coordination with the Metropolitan Police and other key agencies to ensure all protests are carried out safely and securely.” Though originally reluctant, the mayor’s office green-lit the protest balloon—conceived by the self-identified, anti-fascist “art activists” group—after an outburst of public support. “We didn’t get off to the best start with the Mayor’s office over this, who originally told us that they didn’t recognise Trump Baby as legitimate protest,” activist Leo Murray told Sky News, “But […] it looks like City Hall has rediscovered its sense of humour. Trump Baby will fly!” he said. The Metropolitan Police will be in charge of local airspace safety, agreeing to let the flight take place while reserving the right to cancel it the day-of for any reason. The campaigners are currently cooperating with the police force and Civil Aviation Authority in order to avoid safety risks surrounding the blimp launch. The move could potentially heighten pre-existing tensions between President Trump and Kahn. Kahn, the first Muslim mayor of any Western capital, staunchly disapproved of Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and his decision to issue a travel ban against Muslim-majority countries. Story continues In an interview with CNN last year, the London official said, “At a time when the President of the USA has policies that many in our country disagree with, I am not sure it is appropriate for our government to roll out the red carpet.” Meanwhile, Trump heavily criticized Kahn’s handling of the June 2017 London Bridge terrorist attack, saying “Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his ‘no reason to be alarmed’ statement. MSM [mainstream media] is working hard to sell it!” Last year, over 1.8 million individuals signed an online petition seeking to cancel or downgrade Trump’s state visit to the U.K. a request which was ultimately rebuffed by the British government.