We’ve got to hand it to the Brits: they’ve upped their protest game of late. As you’ve no doubt seen all over your news feeds, earlier this month a band of activists in London called upon the nation to crowdfund a six-metre-high helium-powered balloon depicting the US president in a nappy, clutching a mobile phone. The campaign was a success, getting the tick of approval from the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Trump baby blimp took a triumphant flight over Westminster on July 13.
Feeling pumped, one of the organisers of the Inflatable Trump Baby protest, Daniel Jones, wrote in Metro.co.uk that support for the big blimp was so overwhelming that they’re going global and that “he’ll almost certainly be in Australia in November for Trump’s visit there.”
My people. This is the most bigly inauguration crowd in Whole History of inaugurations of huge orange pop-up tyrants. Totally tremendous time. pic.twitter.com/rCvtmjw6rI
— Trump Baby (@TrumpBabyUK) July 14, 2018
So could Sydneysiders get to see the tanned tot in a nappy floating over the harbour?
Speaking to the Guardian this week, protest organiser Simone White said: “We have been in touch with the people that made the blimp and they are actually really keen to have it travel around the world. They’re excited to get the blimp to Australia. Now we’re just in the process of figuring out how to send it, which won’t be too hard.”
Though rumours are simmering, there’s no official visit date for president Donald Trump as yet. Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has invited Trump to Australia and the visit is likely to coincide with the APEC Summit in Papua New Guinea.
Simone White’s protest is going under the name United Against Trump, and in her conversation with the Guardian, she said, “We are expecting this could be one of the biggest protests in Australia in a long time. Our goal, like the goal of the protesters in the UK, is to make Trump feel like he is not welcome here.”
Since its maiden voyage, Trump baby has appeared at Pearl Jam’s stadium concert in London, at Bingfield Park in London’s Kings Cross, and at the Meadows park in Edinburgh, though its journey to Turnberry golf course was halted by police. Groups in the US are also petitioning to fly the bub in America.
I spent the evening with @PearlJam (they like me a lot) at their London stadium show. We rocked bigly. Thanks for the support. pic.twitter.com/2JVCpQnCrR
— Trump Baby (@TrumpBabyUK) July 17, 2018
So far, Trump Baby crowdfunding campaign has raised £34,923 ($61,960) and they’re committing funds to the Trump Baby World Tour, saying in statement on their website, “we’re not done yet. We’ve had countless requests for Trump Baby to visit countries all over the world under threat from a visit from the orange terror.”
Follow Trump Baby’s movements on Twitter.
Someone who is visiting Sydney later this year (and in our opinion worthy of your time and money) is the world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.