London Defaces Itself in an Attempt To Spite Trump
President Donald Trump kicked off his trip to Europe on Monday morning, arriving in the United Kingdom for an official state visit before he flies to France to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday.
But it appears Trump’s presence in the U.K. did not sit well with everyone.
And some displeased denizens expressed their resentment by plastering their distaste for the president across the city, projecting anti-Trump images onto several major landmarks across London.
Among those landmarks that were used as anti-Trump television screens were Big Ben, the Tower of London and the Madame Tussauds wax museum.
Led By Donkeys — a well-known anti-Brexit organization that frequently runs similar campaigns to undermine and poke fun at political opponents — claimed responsibility for the projections on Twitter, repeatedly tweeting directly at Trump to show off its latest campaign.
“Hey @realDonaldTrump, you just endorsed your Brexit buddy @BorisJohnson but he said some VERY NASTY things about you and he doesn’t want you to know. So we projected his words onto Big Ben. Watch with the SOUND ON #TrumpUKVisit,” one tweet read.
Hey @realDonaldTrump, you just endorsed your Brexit buddy @BorisJohnson but he said some VERY NASTY things about you and he doesn’t want you to know. So we projected his words onto Big Ben. Watch with the SOUND ON #TrumpUKVisit pic.twitter.com/etUb6tk9eX
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) June 3, 2019
The attached video projected onto Big Ben featured Boris Johnson, a British member of Parliament who Trump recently suggested would be a good candidate to replace outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, criticizing then-candidate Trump in 2015.
“I have to say when Donald Trump says that there are parts of London that are ‘no go’ areas, I think he’s betraying a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him, frankly, unfit to hold the office of president of the United States,” Johnson can be seen saying.
Another tweet showed a side-by-side comparison of Trump and former President Barack Obama’s British approval ratings, the idea being that Obama was far more well-liked in the U.K. than Trump. That image was projected onto the Tower of London.
Hi @realDonaldTrump. Just so you know, you’re wildly unpopular here in Britain. SAD! People REALLY don’t like you (though they love @BarackObama). Hope you like seeing your FAILING approval numbers projected onto the Tower of London. #TrumpUKvisit pic.twitter.com/oT332Fd6fE
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) June 3, 2019
The organization also projected an image of a Navy baseball cap for the USS John McCain to poke fun at reports that someone in the Trump administration ordered the ship and its crew to stay out of view when the president toured the U.S. naval base in Japan last week.
Hey @realDonaldTrump, we read the story about the sailors on a US warship being ordered to hide from you because you’re triggered by the name on their hats. So we turned Madame Tussaud’s into a giant USS John McCain baseball cap. Welcome to London! pic.twitter.com/KuynOwupFm
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) June 3, 2019
“Hey @realDonaldTrump, we read the story about the sailors on a US warship being ordered to hide from you because you’re triggered by the name on their hats. So we turned Madame Tussaud’s into a giant USS John McCain baseball cap,” the tweet read.
The famed Trump baby blimp has also made appearances in London this week.
In an Op-Ed for The U.K. Independent published Monday, liberal activist Anna Vickerstaff called on those who oppose Trump to come out in full force this week to protest him.
Making the president feel as unwelcome as possible is “exactly the point,” Vickerstaff said, suggesting that Trump will “respond to is humiliation.”
Citing alleged transgressions against the environment, immigrants, women and “non-binary” individuals, Vickerstaff wrote, “Some people have asked whether a personal attack on Trump is fair. The same question that was posed after Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage were doused in milkshakes during their recent European election campaigns.”
“The answer is yes,” she wrote.
“We must continue to resist and undermine Trump and far right politics at every level. Balloons in the air, milkshakes in hand, boots on the ground: we will continue to organise for a radical economic, environmental and social movement that centres justice for everyone,” Vickerstaff said.
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