TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A towering Baby Trump protest balloon was knifed and deflated by someone unhappy with its appearance during President Donald Trump’s Saturday trip to Alabama, organizers said.
The incident occurred during Trump’s visit to watch the University of Alabama football game. The balloon, which is over 20 feet (6.1 meters) tall, was set up in a nearby park.
Jim Girvan, the organizer of a group that “adopts” out Baby Trump balloons for protests, said a man charged the balloon with a knife and cut an 8-foot-long (2.4-meter-long) gash in the back. Girvan said the unidentified man was arrested. Tuscaloosa police did not immediately respond to a request for more details.
The orange, diaper-clad, cellphone-clutching caricature of the president is often taken to Trump appearances as a way to protest him.
Baby Trump first rose over London when local activists brainstormed a way to troll Trump. Now several groups raise money to bring balloon replicas around the U.S.
Tragic: Conan O’Brien Could Have Saved Reiners’ Lives if He Hadn’t Ordered Guests Not to Call the Police When Nick Spun Out of Control
Brown University hires former US Attorney Zachary Cunha as possible campus shooting lawsuits loom
Zohran Mamdani Elects to Be Sworn in by Bernie Sanders
Brown University custodian told security suspicious man was ‘casing’ building weeks before shooting: report
Trump-backed Donalds vows to maintain DeSantis ‘trajectory,’ take Florida to ‘whole new level’
DOJ sues DC over restrictive gun laws
McConnell and Shaheen take bipartisan whacks at Biden and Trump over Ukraine strategies
Watch: Mortified Nicki Minaj Goes Speechless for 20 Seconds Straight After Accidental Assassination Joke to Charlie Kirk’s Widow, but Erika’s Response Was Precious
Trump admin recalling around 30 ambassadors as part of State Dept realignment, official confirms
JD Vance turns Turning Point speech into midterm battle cry — and a preview of 2028
Russian general assassinated in Moscow car bombing
Op-Ed: Conservative Katie? Don’t Be Fooled By Katie Hobbs’ New Tax Plan
Watch: JD Vance Gets Fiery Response from AmFest Crowd After Declaring the U.S. ‘a Christian Nation’
Shocking Video: Steelers Wide Receiver Punches Lions Fan in the Face in Middle of Sunday Game
Florida teens to be tried as adults in brutal killing of 14-year-old girl
Robert Kennedy, a volunteer “baby sitter” who brought the balloon to Tuscaloosa, said the balloon immediately began to sag after it was cut.
The day had been going mostly smoothly, Kennedy said. Some people yelled “Trump 2020” as they passed while others posed for selfies with the balloon. But then Kennedy said a man sidled up on the back of the balloon and attacked it with a knife. He ran away but was caught by police officers, Kennedy said.
Kennedy said he’s accompanied Baby Trump to many appearances and never witnessed an attack on the balloon, although someone did stab a Baby Trump balloon in London earlier this year.
“It is rare to get that kind of anger,” Kennedy said.
Story cited here.
