Activists land funds to fly 'Trump baby' blimp in U.S.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The blimp portraying Donald Trump as a snarling baby that flew over London last week during the U.S. president’s European tour could soon be in New Jersey’s skies after activists said they had raised enough money to bring it to the United States.
Anti-Trump activists by Monday morning had raised more than $7,000 on GoFundMe.com, more than the $4,500 they said they had needed to get the diaper-wearing helium balloon to Bedminster, New Jersey, home of the Trump National Golf Club that the president regularly visits.
After meeting the fundraising goal in two days, organizer Didier Jiminez-Castro urged donors to share any extra funds with @babytrumptour, which intends to take the blimp to U.S. cities including St. Louis and Austin, Texas as well.
“He mention(ed) he does not feel welcome with the Baby Trump in display and we need to get under his skin as much as we can,” Jiminez-Castro said on the GoFundMe page. “We are the unpaid Resistance.”
During his first official visit to the United Kingdom, Trump said he avoided London due to the blimp and the tens of thousands of protesters that took to the streets to decry his administration’s policies.
“I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London,” the Sun newspaper quoted Trump as saying.
Trump on Monday met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the last stop on a European visit in which he criticized NATO allies for failing to spend enough on their militaries and embarrassed British Prime Minister Theresa May by saying she refused to take his advice about Britain’s exit from the EU. He referred to the European Union itself as a “foe” in trade.
Jiminez-Castro told New Jersey media that he expects the blimp to be in Bedminster, a suburb about 35 miles (56 km) west of New York City, by mid-August. He could not be reached for immediate comment on Monday.
It’s unclear whether Trump will actually see the blimp since the Federal Aviation Administration places flight restrictions on the airspace over Bedminster whenever the president visits his golf course.
An FAA spokesman referred questions about the blimp to the U.S. Secret Service. Secret Service officials did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Bedminster Township Administrator Judy Sullivan said there are no local permits required for flying a blimp.
Reporting by Barbara Goldberg, additional reporting by Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Susan Thomas