Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK was marked by a "Carnival of Resistance" throughout the country while a giant balloon depicting the US president as an orange baby was hoisted into the London sky.
Friday’s “Carnival of Resistance” has been planned in some 50 cities across Britain – from Newcastle and York to Brighton – and is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people in what organisers hope will be “one of the biggest demonstrations in British history” to protest against Trump’s policies.
The centrepiece of the protest is the diaper-clad orange balloon, with a quiff of yellow hair and a mobile phone, which was hoisted over the Houses of Parliament.
“We’re holding a mirror up to the toddler in chief -- and showing the president that we deplore his tantrums,” Nona Hurkmans, a spokesperson for the group behind the balloon, was quoted by the Huffington Post as saying before the balloon was launched. “We look forward to seeing the baby fly.”
British anger over Trump’s visit has already had consequences. Just a week after Trump’s inauguration, Prime Minister Theresa May invited the president for a state visit, the type of event that normally includes glittering horse-drawn carriages and a state dinner hosted by the monarch. That morphed into this two-day “working visit” with much less pomp and circumstance amid concern about security and crowds in central London.
Trump will spend very little time in London, having stayed in the capital for a single, well-insulated night at the official residence of the US ambassador in Regent’s Park.
Trump's Marine One departure from the ambassador's residence was met by jeers from demonstrators banging pots and pans, and another pack of protesters lined roads near the palace. Some of their signs read "Dump Trump," ''Lock Him Up" and "There Will Be Hell Toupee."
After arriving in Britain on Thursday afternoon, Trump had dinner at Winston Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) outside London. On Friday, he will travel to the prime minister’s country residence, Chequers, for talks with May. Instead of a procession down The Mall to Buckingham Palace, he’ll be helicoptered to the garden at Windsor Castle for tea with Queen Elizabeth II.
Trump, in an interview with Britain’s Sun newspaper, criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying he had not been “hospitable” to the US government. Khan refused to block the Trump baby balloon.
“I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London,” Trump said in an interview published Friday.
Khan, who has often been a target of Trump’s ire, backed the protests but said those who want to cause trouble are not welcome.
British police have so far worked overtime to handle the protests surrounding Trump's visit, and all leave has been cancelled.
