London Museum Wants Trump Balloon

The Donald Trump baby balloon will live on in London after President Trump has left: The Museum of London plans to exhibit it. The 20-foot blimp was flown over Parliament Square during the Trump's visit last summer. Museum director Sharon Ament said the balloon illustrates "how people protest in London," per the BBC. "It's extraordinary how some objects can capture the public imagination; certainly the balloon really did," she said. London Mayor Sadiq Khan gave Trump opponents permission to fly the balloon; he and Trump have been critical of each other, and Trump renewed that dialogue Monday with a tweet as he landed in England. There's a balloon depicting Khan, too, in a yellow bikini. The museum would like to display that one, as well. "They're both really important and of their time," Ament said.

But the balloon, which was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $30,000, can't go to the museum yet, per Newsweek: It has plans during Trump's state visit this week. Demonstrators expect to raise it over Parliament Square for two hours Tuesday while the president meets with Prime Minister Theresa May. Ament isn't sure when the owners will turn over the balloon; "clearly, they have use for it at the moment," she said. The museum houses thousands of objects from London protests, including the Suffragette marches of the early 20th century, the anti-austerity protests of 2011, and the recent climate change demonstrations. (The real Trump had a new look for one day.)