Activist group wants to fly 'Baby Trump' balloon over July 4th event
Code Pink wants to fly the bright orange, inflated caricature of the president with a signature comb-over – known as “Baby Trump” – over the Fourth of July festivities at the National Mall.
The women-led grassroots activist group put in a request with the National Park Service on Monday, according to the organization. The group says it wants to fly the balloon to protest Trump’s "entire agenda" including immigration bans and families separated at the border. They also protested immediately following President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to build a border wall aimed at securing U.S.-Mexico border.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump said he wanted the Independence Day celebration to expand beyond the extensive Fourth of July festivities that already take place each year in the nation's capital and include a large military parade and a public speech.
The president has yet to attain his desired grand military parade, but he does have plans to celebrate this Fourth of July in a big way, with a presidential address and an event he's calling "A Salute to America" on the National Mall, possibly at the Lincoln Memorial. He is touting it as “one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C.”
And if Code Pink gets its permit approved by the National Park Service, "Baby Trump" will be there. The National Park Service previously approved use of a giant inflatable just north of the Washington Monument in August 2017.
The balloon has become popular in political protests lately.
The balloon was most recently flown over central London's Parliament Square during Trump’s visit to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday celebration.
Code Pink will be working with another organization to bring it to D.C. "I think British Humor will be appreciated here in Washington," said Medea Benjamin, Code Pink's co-founder.
"It seems like he wants to make Independence Day all about him, instead of a unified celebration of our nation's independence," Benjamin said. "He's a big baby, so the baby is an appropriate symbol of his attempt to hijack Fourth of July."
