The Donald Trump baby blimp has ascended once again over the skies of central London, as the US president embarks on the second day of his three-day state visit to the UK.
The 20ft balloon, which many will recognise from its debut appearance last July during Trump’s first stay, is flying over Westminster after its takeoff from Parliament Square this morning.
It was up and away after almost an hour of being filled with hot air, with a team of organisers wearing red jumpsuits and hats marked “Trump babysitters”.
The blimp is a tangerine-coloured, hairy-chested baby wearing nothing but a nappy, with the president’s trademark blond swoop and a mobile phone in one of his tiny hands.
The brainchild of 36-year-old Londoner Matt Bonner, the blimp cost £5,000 to make and has been put to good use – even travelling to the G20 summit in Argentina last November.
Sonny Kim, from New York but living in the UK, travelled to central London to take part in the protests. She told HuffPost UK: “I live here now, I originally moved here for a work opportunity but it was kind of serendipitous because the election happened and I just didn’t feel comfortable living in my own country anymore.
“My parents are both immigrants as well, and [Trump] challenges everything that I am – being a woman, a woman of colour, being someone who came to the country for the very reasons out constitution stands for.
“I have friends consistently asking me ‘When are you coming home?’. And I’m just like: ‘Depends how long he is in office’.”
Shaista Aziz, from the Stop Trump coalition, the organisers behind Tuesday’s protest, told HuffPost UK: “To be very clear, Trump is back by popular demand, and we’re talking about the Trump that’s here, the blimp. Last year he captured the world’s imagination.
“The reason for this is that it captures the personality and the essence of the president of the United States, which is that he’s full of hot air, he’s a man child, he doesn’t know how to make fun of himself, he’s got a very thin skin, he’s super aggressive, there’s some hardcore toxic masculinity there.”
Meanwhile, Trump supporter Lewis Metcalfe, 28, from Richmond in North Yorkshire, said he took a day off work to travel to London and offer “a difference of opinion”.
“I’m obviously going to be a minority today. I’m not here to troll, to cause a riot or cause disruption,” said Metcalfe, who was at Parliament Square wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap.
“I don’t agree with all his policies. He’s not the greatest president in the world but he does get things done.”
As well as the blimp, a 16ft talking robot of Trump sitting on a toilet named ‘Dump Trump’ is also in place.
Don Lessem travelled from Philadelphia with the robot which speaks the phrases “No collusion”, “You are fake news” and “I’m a very stable genius” – the audio of which is Trump’s own voice.
The robot also makes a farting sound, though Lessem said: “The fart we couldn’t get from him (Trump) so we had to use a generic fart.”
Martin Tolley, a former archaeologist, stayed overnight after travelling from Suffolk. As the blimp was being inflated, the 56-year-old told HuffPost UK he was protesting because of Trump’s attitude to disabled people. “He’s is ableist, he is a misogynist, he is racist. It’s as simple as that. He’s a dangerous person.
“When he fist bumps her majesty, it’s not the done thing. He was briefed on that before. It’s not the done thing, it’s totally against etiquette.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, granted permission for the blimp to fly. The baby could now find a permanent home at the Museum of London, as part of its permanent collection.
Last year it accompanied around 100,000 people in London protesting Trump’s visit. Trump himself said once he laid eyes on it: “I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London.”
A £50,000 crowdfunding campaign was set up to raise funds for six organisations “working against Trump’s toxic policies every day”, organisers said.
By Monday afternoon, nearly £35,000 had been raised for groups in the UK and the US, including Planned Parenthood and Sisters Uncut.
The blimp stunt is not the only one to greet Trump during his stay – the president was greeted on Monday by an image of a giant penis and the words “Oi Trump”, which were mowed into a field on the approach to Stansted airport, where he landed.
And not long after Trump endorsed Boris Johnson for PM, anti-Brexit campaign Led By Donkeys projected Johnson’s previous unflattering comments about the president onto Big Ben.