With President of the United States Donald Trump set to visit the United Kingdom next week, many activists are against his visit with planned protests and a giant inflatable of the President due to fly above the city.
Although the exact schedule of the President is unknown, rumors state that he has plans to meet with the Queen and the Prime Minister.
The inflatable is due to fly above London the morning of Friday, July 13, from 9:30am, in time for the President’s meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May.
With six days to go until the event, activist Leo Murray and his friends have raised thousands of pounds over their target. Using online site Crowdfunder, they have currently raised £18,613.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the City Hall has granted permission for the ‘Trump Baby’ to sit above the capital until 11:30am as a peaceful protest and metaphor for Trump and his baby-like polices and politics.
Although, the London Mayor’s office was against the application at first, a petition was started to let the ‘Trump Baby’ fly. With over 10,000 people signing and the funds covering the cost, permission was granted.
Donald Trump has caused great controversy across the world since his presidential campaign and winning against Democrats candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. Within his term of office, citizens of not only the U.S., but countries across the globe, have been angered by his disgusting views and polices from his sexist comments to his racist views.
The recent reports of more than 700 migrant children forcibly removed from their parents at the U.S. to Mexico border has led to disgust from people all over the world. John Kelly, the former Homeland Security Secretary expressed that he believed the un-humane method would serve as an effective deterrent to prevent undocumented immigration.
The activists behind ‘Trump Baby’ have high hopes to see the inflatable Trump on a world tour. With more support and money donated than they needed for the London protest, they have plans for ‘Trump Baby’ to follow Trump among his travels and engagements. They have requested any communities expecting a visit from the President to get in touch, with a possible extra guest of ‘Trump Baby.’
Leo Murray shared to the Metro why he was choosing to use humor against troubled Trump rather than anger, :This point is key. The day Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, I found myself gripped by a profound sense of dread. It was a feeling that I had not experienced since I first got to grips with the looming threat of catastrophic climate change, the issue I now work on every day.”
He continued, “But my rising panic over Trump’s election wasn’t about climate change exactly. It was about a crushing sense of my own powerlessness to prevent terrible, unconscionable things happening to vulnerable people on an enormous scale. For me, in the face of a humanitarian disaster like climate change or Donald Trump, it really is a case of having to laugh, or cry. So I choose laughter.”
Protests across the country are planned for Trump’s visit including a ‘welcome party’ in Regents Park from 5:30pm on July 12. Major towns and cities across the U.K. are also planning events including Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds, Cardiff and Cambridge.
Although the giant inflatable may seem immature to others, I think the activists behind the campaign has summed up Trump perfectly — a giant, orange, spoiled baby.
