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.
MS Now’s Longest-Running Anchor Is Out As Struggling Network Pivots to More Reliance on Podcasts
House GOP’s SAVE Act rescue plan hits resistance from conservative holdouts
Trump’s massive GOP faith bloc raises red flag on Iran deal: Trust him, not his team
Socialists take fight west, target Colorado in latest bid to oust Democratic Party establishment
Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’
Trump supporters rip Amy Coney Barrett after Supreme Court setbacks
A California dog rescue hid a grim secret: more than 100 dogs buried beneath it
DuckDuckGo’s AI Assistant Claims Trump and Vance Have Died from Rabies
CBS crew attacked by multiple men near Chicago museum, suspects arrested: police
That Thing That ‘Never Happens’ Happened Again – NYC Clerk Caught Fixing Election with Oversize Garbage Can Filled with Ballots – Court Docs
Helicopter reports drone encounter near JFK hours after JetBlue’s possible drone strike
Trump taps acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling for permanent role pending Senate confirmation
Clarence Thomas Irks MSNOW Reporter by Laughing Off Questions at Capitol
San Francisco archdiocese agrees to $395M settlement with 530 clergy abuse survivors
Ex-NFL Superstar Chris Johnson, 40, Diagnosed with ALS, Can No Longer Speak
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.
