Nappy-clad orange baby blimp leads anti-Trump protests in London

The US President began his widely opposed state visit by slamming Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy.

2 min read

13 July, 2018

A giant balloon depicting Donald Trump as a nappy-clad orange baby took flight in London on Friday as protesters marched against the US President's state visit.

The American leader landed in the UK on Thursday and was greeted with a red carpet welcome at Bleinheim Palace where he dined with Prime Minister Theresa May.

But the pomp and niceties planned for the four-day state visit could turn sour after a stinging interview published in The Sun saw Trump lash out at May, saying her EU Brexit plan would "probably kill" her hopes for a trade deal with the United States.

The undiplomatic language does nothing to endear the presdient to the many protesters who intend to shadow his visit, with 60,000 marching through the capital on Friday, while other protests are expected around the country.

Comment: Anti-Trump protests must reject his politics, not just his personality

Starting at Portland Place and ending in an evening rally at Trafalgar Square, thousands will wave placards and banners condemning the US president's brash style and hardline "America First" policies.

"Trump Baby" blimp organiser Daniel Jones, a charity communications officer aged 26, said they were trying to make people laugh as well as making a serious point.

"It's also about giving a boost to those in America resisting his policies," he said. One man dressed as a gorilla and wore a Trump plastic mask, stood inside a large metal cage, while a Doctor Who Dalek with a blonde hairpiece was spotted roaming Whitehall.

An Amnesty International banner protests Trump's visit [Getty]

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who gave permission for the blimp to fly, was also a target of Trump's criticism over recent terror attacks and knife crime. "Paris, Nice, Brussels, Berlin, cities in America all suffered terror attacks and it's for President Trump to explain why he singled me as the mayor of London out," Khan responded on Friday.

Meanwhile British politicians outraged by Trump's attack on May called the president "extraordinarily rude".

"Where are your manners, Mr President?" tweeted universities minister Sam Gyimah.

Other MPs in May's Conservative party rounded on the president for being "determined to insult" May. MP Sarah Woollaston attacked his "divisive, dog-whistle rhetoric" on migration, adding: "If signing up to the #Trump world view is the price of a deal, it's not worth paying."

Trump and May will meet at the Prime Minister's country residence at Chequers on Friday, before the US President has tea with the Queen.

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