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Act of God Grounds 'Baby Trump' Balloon

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The “Baby Trump” balloon made another appearance Thursday during the Fourth of July celebration in Washington. What a shame it was grounded.

Yes, it’s not like the infamous balloon (we sometimes call it a blimp, but given the fact that it’s roughly 20 feet by 20 feet, it’s difficult to say that it’s going to be mistaken for anything from Goodyear) was going to fly that high, anyway.

Code Pink had brought the balloon — which depicts a bloated, perma-orange President Donald Trump in a diaper, mouth agape, clutching a cellphone — to D.C. to “challeng[e] ‘supreme leader’ wannabe Trump for politicizing and militarizing our national holiday” via his “Salute to America.” Yawn.

However, the balloon was grounded for two reasons. First, the National Park Service wouldn’t allow the group to fill Baby Trump with helium, citing a ban on balloons on the National Mall. Code Pink claimed it had only wanted the balloon to be two feet off of the ground, but that wasn’t going to happen, given the fact the permit called for cold air only. At least it got the protesters some attention, though.

But an act of God ensured the balloon wouldn’t stay inflated for the entire day.

WRC-TV’s Mark Segraves reported on the situation:

Given the fact that balloons and lightning tend not to play well with each other, Code Pink was forced to deflate the balloon until the storm passed.

But all good things must come to an end, as Segraves would document later:

The reinflation seemed to get a few desultory cheers from the crowd. Or perhaps it was the band playing patriotic music in the background. One way or the other, there was some minor-league cheering going on.

Either way, there’s no better metaphor for the extreme anti-Trump element than a small group of fanatics gathered around a balloon while a patriotic band booms off in the distance.

Unlike in London, where the Baby Trump balloon got plenty of attention when it was trotted out during a recent visit by the president, the balloon didn’t get much press this time. In fact, if it wasn’t for the spat over the permit, I don’t think that I would have heard anything about it at all.

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At least it got the attention of one particular White House correspondent, because of course it did.

Let the “dear diary” retweets begin.

Did you watch the "Salute to America"?

Acosta may have noticed it, but most people seem to have invested a lot more energy into the parade, which figures. Baby Trump simply doesn’t get the kind of attention it did when it first appeared.

In fact, the only attention it got was when it was announced that it wouldn’t take flight and then when it was deflated.

Good job, guys. This was clearly all worth it.

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C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




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