LONDON — The Donald Trump Baby blimp has ascended once again over the skies of central London, as the U.S. president embarks on the second day of his three-day state visit to the UK.
The 20-foot balloon, which many will recognize from its debut appearance last July during Trump’s first stay, is flying over Westminster after its takeoff from Parliament Square on Tuesday morning.
It depicts 72-year-old Trump as a tangerine-colored, hairy-chested baby wearing nothing but a diaper, 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 ($6,300) to make and has so far got some good use — even traveling to the G20 summit in Argentina last November.
As well as the blimp, a 16-foot talking robot of Trump sitting on a toilet — named “Dump Trump” — is also in place.
Don Lessem traveled from Philadelphia with the robot, which says 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.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan granted permission for the blimp to fly, and the baby could be about to secure a permanent home at the Museum of London, which says it wants to house the blimp as an exhibit.
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 ($63,000) crowdfunding campaign was set up to raise funds for six organizations “working against Trump’s toxic policies every day,” organizers said.
By Monday afternoon, nearly £35,000 ($44,300) had been raised for groups in the UK and the U.S., including Planned Parenthood and Sisters Uncut.
The blimp stunt is not the only one to greet Trump during his stay – the president was greeted 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 former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for prime minister, anti-Brexit campaign Led By Donkeys projected Johnson’s previous unflattering comments about the president onto Big Ben.
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