Huge blimp of Mayor will fly over Parliament Square in UK capital on Saturday
During Donald Trump’s historic visit to the UK in July, London Mayor Sadiq Khan approved a giant balloon of the president wearing a diaper to be flown over the British capital.
Mayor Khan was accused of adding to the anti-Trump sentiment during the US president’s trip as protestors took to the streets in the tens of thousands.
Now Khan must prepare to face his own humiliation as protesters prepare to launch their response to the “Trump baby” blimp by flying a giant inflatable showing the London mayor dressed in a bright yellow bikini.
Organisers raised more than £58,000 ($75,000) online to pay for the blimp of Mr. Khan following the fury over the 20ft Trump balloon, which was granted permission to rise above Parliament Square during the US President’s visit last month.
Daily Mail reports: The inflatable depicting a bikini-clad Mr. Khan, which is slightly larger than its rival at 29ft, will be flown in the same Westminster location on Saturday morning.
Yanny Bruere, the 28-year-old marketing manager behind the effigy, said he had been angered by the Mayor’s focus on political point scoring instead of dealing with soaring crime.
He said: ‘I was just so irritated that Mr. Khan took it upon himself to speak on behalf of the UK over the President’s visit.
‘Whatever anyone thinks of Mr. Trump, he is still leader of the free world and should be accorded the respect of that position, especially at such a critical time for the UK as we face separation from the EU.
‘It feels like the Mayor of London prioritizes personal enmity over the good of the country.’
The design of the inflatable showing Mr. Khan dressed in a bikini pokes fun at one of his first decisions upon taking office when he banned adverts on the London Underground that promote an unhealthy body image.
It followed a row over a billboard poster showing a woman in a bikini that asked: ‘Are you beach body ready?’
Mr. Bruere said: ‘It’s ridiculous that he talked about the importance of freedom of speech when he gave permission for London to insult the President of the United States while imposing censorship himself upon the lives of ordinary Londoners.
‘He would never have given permission for that balloon if it ridiculed Barack Obama.
‘It feels like freedom of speech only applies if you have views deemed acceptable by our governing bodies.
‘That’s what I wanted to put to the test, as well as providing a voice for those in despair at the crime statistics in the capital since Khan took charge.
‘But he couldn’t really turn this down when he’d made such a big deal of Trump.’
Ahead of Mr. Trump’s visit, Mr. Khan defended his decision to allow the balloon of the U.S. President, saying:
‘I shouldn’t be the arbiter, as a politician, of what’s in good taste or bad taste, what’s important is it to be peaceful, and for it to be safe.
‘And, frankly speaking, the idea that we limit the rights to protest, we limit the rights to free speech because it may cause offense to a foreign leader is a very, very slippery slope.’
Mr. Khan added: ‘The UK, like in fact the US, has a long and rich history of the rights and the freedoms to protest, the freedom of speech, the freedom to assemble.
‘Can you imagine if we limited freedom of speech because somebody’s feelings might be hurt?’