Trump baby blimp 'stabbed with sharp object' by pro-Trump activist in London
One of the Trump baby blimps flown at today’s protests in London against the US president’s visit was attacked by a pro-Trump supporter carrying a sharp object.
A woman approached a group anti-Trump activists outside the House of Commons and stabbed the mini blimp in the back, according to the team of “babysitters” looking after the balloon.
“A woman … punctured the mini Trump baby replica with a sharp object,” said a spokesman for the Trump Baby UK group. “It’s not surprising that the far right would want to meet freedom of expression with violence.”
The Donald Trump supporter was led away from the crowd by police officers. A spokesperson for Scotland Yard told The Independent that “one female has been arrested for being in possession of a pointed or bladed article”.
Elsewhere in Parliament Square, one of the president’s supporters was hit on the head by a milkshake. Video footage showed a crowd of demonstrators chanting “Nazi scum” at the man, before he was struck by a drink container and with left milkshake dripping down his forehead.
Activists had flown the giant, 20ft high blimp depicting Mr Trump as an angry orange infant in Parliament Square around 9am on Tuesday morning, before inflating a smaller, lighter replica to carry among the crowds this afternoon.
“We’ve had a fantastic day with Baby Trump in front of the world’s media and the president himself,” said a spokesman. “The actual Trump Baby is on his way to Dublin as we speak to be ready to troll Trump on his next destination.”
Mr Trump, in the UK with his family for a three-day state visit, had to drive past the giant baby balloon as he arrived in Whitehall to meet prime minister Theresa May on Tuesday.
The Greater London Authority, headed by the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, gave the green light for the huge inflatable effigy to be flown in protest during the visit.
Campaigner Anna Vickerstaff, one of the blimp organisers, told The Independent: “Our balloon is part of a proud history of political satire in the UK that sends a clear, orange, message to Trump and his politics of hate that they are not welcome here.”
Many attending the protest also took photos of a huge robotic likeness of Mr Trump sitting on a golden toilet. The robot caught the attention with its recitation of “No collusion” and “You are fake news”.
Don Lessem from Philadelphia, who built the statue and had it shipped by boat across the Atlantic, said: “It’s 16 feet high, so it’s as large as his ego.” The dinosaur expert, who makes models of prehistoric creatures, added: ”I’m interested in things that are big, not very intelligent and have lost their place in history.”
