This week a crowdfunded balloon will be unveiled in London, as a protest to Trump’s visit there on Friday 13th July. The vast balloon, which is an orange 20 feet baby with tiny hands, is set to fly over London for the duration of his visit in an attempt to quite literally and figuratively send up the president.
As to be expected, the move has made some Trump allies and supporters rather inflated in their anger. Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘The orange Trump baby balloon is a pathetic stunt that makes Britain look petty & puerile.’ Nigel Farage, given that he has such important issues to comment on now that Brexit is proving a Titanic success, had time to comment on the balloon saying said: ‘It is the biggest insult to a sitting President of the United States’. On standing, posing and dance-flossing presidents, he was unavailable for comment.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan did not object to the balloon, as he felt to do so would undermine the right for citizens to assemble and the right for them to protest. This is an unsurprising stance for him to take, given that Kahn has had several fractious interactions with Trump in the recent past. Back in June 20017, after the London Bridge terrorist attacks, Kahn released a statement saying that the British people would show resolve in the face of the terrorist attacks. On 7th June, Trump tweeted with a comment: “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is “no reason to be alarmed?!”
Rather strategically, Kahn has been quite supportive of the balloon protest as he feels it is fair game for a public figure to be ridiculed. He has played a very safe game, looking like he is on the side of the ridiculed – saying it is not disrespectful but that he is merely upholding free speech and the right to protest – but it seems clear that he too is happy to be on their side of the ridiculers. Kahn, himself a Muslim, must feel that Trump has done his fair share of antagonising Muslim identity and most certainly, this has gone beyond the realm of ridicule. It is fair to say that the tact balloon has been burst for Trump for some time now.
All the same, the baby balloon can be read as a wonderfully clever piece of art installation. Genius, a tribute to Trump! He seems to fit nicely with all the qualities of a big, orange balloon and in the words of Oscar Wild; imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Therefore, in an effort to be wholly respectable towards the 45th president of the US, it is fitting to merely list the features of the balloon, features that have drawn inspiration as a means of capturing the President’s spirit and essence:
- It is orange
- It is big, bold, ostentatious
- It moves with the wind, depending on the mood it is in
- It is full of hot air that has no effect on its function whatsoever
- It has tiny hands
- It has some features of a baby
- It steadfastly clutches a smartphone
- It is enraged
- We have no idea really how it got there
The now ex-British Foreign secretary Boris Johnson, a flight away from going to some such location to (according to Danny Dyer) ‘Put his trotters up!’, was today referred to by Trump as a ‘great friend’. He may well be considered this week as someone who quite literally, exited the political arena before the balloon went up. Given the chaos that is Brexit, it is as good a reason as any to make a political move and at least it has been swift and decisive. Unlike the Brexit negotiations themselves.
What originally began as a crowdfunded project to get the balloon up and running, has swiftly gained in the region on 30k in donations from the public. The organisers have promised to use the extra money to bring the balloon on tour. Would you go to see the balloon to shake its (rather tiny) hand? Or should it go down like a lead balloon?
