Trump Baby Protest Blimp at the Parliament Square during a protest in London. Photo courtesy of the Trump Baby UK Twitter account.

BY KAZAD

LONDON-The giant ‘Trump Baby’ protest blimp used during the protest against President Trump’s UK visit in 2018 has been acquired by the Museum of London for its collection of Protest art.

The sneering 6-meter-high inflatable caricature depicts the outgoing US President as an orange baby in a diaper with its tiny hands clutching a Smartphone. The inflatable Trump balloon was first flown over London’s Parliament Square as protesters flooded the space to protest his visit. Since that first display, the inflatable has become a signifier for Trump and a recurring symbol of dissent at anti-Trump protests around the US and across the globe.

This acquisition of Trump Baby is happening just ahead of the inauguration of the US president-elect Joe Biden.

Since it first appeared during Trump’s presidential visit to the UK in 2018 and subsequent state visit in 2019, the inflatable has gone around the globe becoming a symbol of protest of the Trump’s administration.  It has been flown in France, Argentina, Ireland, Denmark and various locations in the United States.

The Museum of London began showing interest in acquiring the balloon about two years ago because of its relevance to the objective of conserving protest ephemera.

The museum intends to display the Trump Baby Balloon in the museum’s future new home in Smithfield it is completed.

Trump Baby Protest Art

Sharon Ament, Museum of London Director notes that the protest that featured the Trump Baby inflatable continues London’s long historic tradition of political protests, including the Suffragettes of the early twentieth century to the anti-austerity marches, free speech, and recently the Black Lives. She notes

Ament stressed the importance of the acquisition of the Trump Balloon. “By collecting the baby blimp we can mark the wave of feeling that washed over the city that day and capture a particular moment of resistance.” She emphasized that the “feeling still relevant today as we live through these exceptionally challenging times – that ultimately shows Londoners banding together in the face of extreme adversity.”

Politics of Hate

The helium-filled balloon cost £16,000 and was paid for through crowdfunding. Designed by Matt Bonner, it was constructed by Imagine Inflatables of Leicester.  The team behind the Trump Baby is happy that the London Museum is acquiring Baby Trump because it entrenches its relevance to protest art history.

“We hope the baby’s place in the museum will stand as a reminder of when London stood against Trump – but will prompt those who see it to examine how they can continue the fight against the politics of hate. Most of all we hope the Trump Baby serves as a reminder of the politics of resistance that took place during Trump’s time in office.”

Significant as the acquisition of the Baby Trump is, the team is “under no illusions that this is the end of the story.  The team explained that the “large inflatable was just a tiny part of a global movement – a movement that was led by the marginalised people whose Trump’s politics most endangered – and whose role in this moment should never be underestimated.”

The Emperor Has No Balls

The Trump Baby Protest Blimp is not the first time President Trump has been the subject of protest art. In 2016, a sculpture of the outgoing president was on display on the street of New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Cleveland, and Los Angeles. Titled The Emperor Has No Balls, the sculpture was later auctioned at Julien’s Auctions.

Trump: A Wall of Cartoons

Also in 2016, Trump was the central theme of an exhibition of cartoons in Mexico. The show was titled Trump: A Wall of Cartoons.