London Mayor Sadiq Khan has approved plans to fly a giant inflatable figure depicting President Donald Trump as a baby over the city during his visit in the UK.
President Trump is due to meet PM Theresa May at 10 Downing Street on July 13.
Campaigners raised almost £18,000 ($24,000) for the helium-filled 20ft high figure, which they said reflects President Trump’s character as an “angry baby with a fragile ego and tiny hands”.
The White House did not comment on the issue.
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage tweeted that the plan was “the biggest insult to a sitting US President ever”.
Under the plans the inflatable will be allowed to fly for two hours on the morning of Friday, July 13.
Leo Murray, who is behind the crowd-funded idea, said: “[President Trump] really seems to hate it when people make fun of him.
“So when he visits the UK on Friday, we want to make sure he knows that all of Britain is looking down on him and laughing at him.
“That’s why a group of us have chipped in and raised enough money to have a six-metre high blimp made by a professional inflatables company, to be flown in the skies over Parliament Square during Trump’s visit.”
He said organizers initially “didn’t get off to the best start with the mayor’s office over this, who originally told us that they didn’t recognize Trump Baby as legitimate protest”.
However, Leo Murray said City Hall had “rediscovered its sense of humor – Trump Baby will fly”.
A statement on behalf of the London mayor said Sadiq Khan “supports the right to peaceful protest and understands that this can take many different forms”.
Sadiq Khan’s city operations team met organizers and gave them permission to “use Parliament Square Garden as a grounding point for the blimp”.
More than 10,000 people signed a petition calling for the inflatable to be given permission to fly, activists said.
Sadiq Khan and Donald Trump have repeatedly clashed on Twitter, including in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack.
Before the inflatable can take off, campaigners will also need permission from the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) as the project constitutes a “non-standard flight in controlled airspace”, a spokesperson said.
Because Parliament Square sits within restricted airspace, additional approvals are also needed from the Metropolitan Police.
Max Wakefield, who is one of the people working on the project, said the group is “confident it will obtain all necessary permits”.
He said the initial crowd-funding target was just £1,000 ($1,300), but this was reached within 24 hours.
The extra cash will now be used to send the balloon on a “world tour” and “haunt” President Trump wherever he goes, Max Wakefield added.
Donald Trump Jr. has criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan, shortly after the terror attack on the UK capital that killed four people on March 22.
President Donald Trump’s son tweeted an article written last year, in which Sadiq Khan said terror vigilance had become “part and parcel” of life in a global city.
“You have to be kidding me?!” said Donald Trump Jr., immediately sparking accusations that he was exploiting the tragedy and misrepresenting the mayor’s point.
The attacker drove a car through pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then fatally knifed a police officer who tried to stop him entering the Houses of Parliament. He was then shot dead.
Two hours later, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted an article from the Independent newspaper in September 2016.
The tweet added: “Terror attacks are part of living in a big city, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan.”
Image source Flickr
In the article, Sadiq Khan was speaking shortly before a meeting with New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, on the day after three bombs exploded in New York City and nearby towns, wounding 29 people.
The attacks had given him a sleepless night, he said, as he pondered the dangers faced by big Western cities like New York and London.
“Part and parcel of living in a great global city is you have to be prepared for these sorts of things, you have to be vigilant, you have to support the police doing an incredibly hard job, you have to support the security services,” Sadiq Khan said.
On March 22, after the attack in Westminster, Mayor Khan said that Londoners “will never be cowed by terrorism” and that the city stood together in the face of those seeking it harm.
Sadiq Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, has previously clashed with Donald Trump Jr’s father, in January denouncing his travel ban as “shameful and cruel”.
In 2016, Sadiq Khan accused the then-candidate Trump of being “ignorant” about Islam.
Donald Trump responded by challenging the mayor to an IQ test.
The president’s eldest son, who now manages his father’s business and has no White House role, has been accused of insensitivity before.
Donald Trump has softened his stance on temporarily barring Muslims from travelling to the US.
Responding to remarks by newly elected London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Donald Trump told Fox News Radio the ban was “just a suggestion”.
Sadiq Khan has expressed concern that he would not be able to travel to the US under a Trump administration because of his Muslim faith.
The Republican presidential hopeful had offered to make an “exception” for Sadiq Khan.
Sadiq Khan refused Donald Trump’s offer, saying the New York businessman’s views were “ignorant” and would make the UK and the US “less safe”.
Donald Trump proposed a ban on Muslims entering the US after attacks in Paris killed 130 people last year.
The suggested ban has been widely criticized in the US and abroad but Donald Trump until now has stood by the proposal, saying it was needed to ensure US security.
Donald Trump said on May 11: “It’s a temporary ban. It hasn’t been called for yet.
“This is just a suggestion until we find out what’s going on.”
He has shifted positions in the past on a variety of issues only to change his stance days later.
Donald Trump has often given conflicting accounts on issues including his tax plan, abortion and transgender people accessing public toilets.
This flexibility has led to concerns among Republican Party leaders about his candidacy.
Top Republicans including House Speaker Paul Ryan have said they are not ready to support Donald Trump in the general election.
The billionaire will meet Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and others on May 12 in an attempt to resolve differences.
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney – who ran against President Barack Obama in 2012 – separately raised questions about Donald Trump’s tax returns.
Donald Trump has so far refused to release his tax records – a common practice among presidential nominees. Hillary Clinton has posted her past eight tax returns on her website.
Mitt Romney said: “It is disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse to release tax returns to the voters, especially one who has not been subject to public scrutiny in either military or public service.”
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