📌 Defiance is in the Air: Balloons as tools of resistance
I hear someone has a birthday coming up...
Welcome to How to Resist, a blueprint for resistance based on nonviolence, mutual aid, and community building for ordinary people who want to save democracy.
Dear Resisters,
In the summer of 2018, as Donald Trump prepared for his official visit to the United Kingdom, a group of British activists were asking themselves a question: how do you protest someone who has no sense of shame and who thrives on outrage and attention?
Their answer was unexpected and unforgettable— a 19 1/2’ (6m) inflatable caricature of Trump as a baby: orange-skinned, diapered, scowling, clutching a smartphone, ready to tweet. It was absurd, and completely deliberate. As Max Wakefield, one of the protest’s organizers, put it, “The only way that you can make any impact with Donald Trump is to mock him, because you can't engage him in any kind of argument — it never gets anywhere."
At first, London officials weren’t convinced that inflatables counted as legitimate protest. But the creators pushed back. They launched a petition that quickly gained over 10,000 signatures and a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than £15,000, over three times their original goal.
Eventually, City Hall gave them the green light, and on July 13, 2018, the Baby Trump balloon took flight over Parliament Square for two hours during Trump’s visit. It was a striking image: grotesque, goofy, surreal, and somehow still deeply resonant and deeply political.
The balloon became a recurring symbol at anti-Trump protests, not just in the UK but in Europe and North America as well. With the extra funds from the crowdfunding campaign, the team sent Baby Trump on a “world tour,” coordinating with local activist groups to fly the balloon wherever Trump traveled, where it became a kind of floating protest mascot.
Baby Trump and his surrogates served throughout Trump first presidency, although not without incident. The balloon was once banned by local officials from flying over Trump’s Turnberry Golf Course in Scotland, and was attacked twice by knife-wielding assailants.
In 2021, the original Baby Trump balloon was retired and donated to the Museum of London for its collection of protest art. The museum called it an important piece of London protest history, and indeed, they’re right. It is an important piece of history, not just for London but for the history of nonviolent resistance as well.
For all its absurdity, this simple balloon has meaning and purpose. Ridicule and mockery are more than immature taunts, they’re strategic. They strip away the illusion of power. They expose the insecurity behind the bravado. And in the case of authoritarian figures, like Trump, who often rely on fear and spectacle to maintain control, mockery can be an extremely effective tool for eroding power. It’s a way to very clearly say, ‘we’re not afraid of you.’
And it makes people laugh. It brings joy into spaces that are often heavy with anger and grief. It reminds us that resistance can be creative, even fun. That we can fight back with art, absurdity, helium, a little imagination, and laughter.
“[I created this balloon because of] a crushing sense of my own powerlessness to prevent terrible, unconscionable things happening to vulnerable people on an enormous scale. For me, in the face of a humanitarian disaster like climate change or Donald Trump, it really is a case of having to laugh, or cry. So I choose laughter.” Leo Murray, one of the creators of the Baby Trump inflatable.
So this week, in honor of someone’s special upcoming birthday on June 14th, we’re looking at inflatables as tools of resistance. Below you’ll find a few more recent examples, and how you can get your very own Baby Trump balloon for the big day.
Hope to see you there,
🎈 M-.
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Military Trump
An inflatable resembling Trump in a military-style uniform at the ‘Hands Off!’ rally in Los Angeles, California.
Chicken Trump
A 33-foot-tall chicken resembling Trump and wearing striped prison clothing, heads past Pier 39 in the SanFransico Bay on a boat labeled ‘Alcatraz Prison Transport’.
The chicken, without its prison garb, outside of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., 2017.
KKK Trump
Protesters mounted an inflatable Donald Trump donning a KKK costume ahead of his rally site in Phoenix, 2016.
Rat Trump
A 15-foot inflatable of Trump styled as a rat in Washington, D.C. not far from the white house.
A Second Rat Trump
A giant rat balloon with features resembling Trump greeted Republicans for the president's visit to Baltimore in 2019.
Mini Trump Babies
Mini Trump Babies afloat in London.
Get your own mini Baby Trump balloon
If you are wondering how you can get your own inflatable in time for the big day, this seller on Amazon has a 2-pack of balloons, and you may also be able to find balloons on Etsy.
Once you have your balloon, you’ll need to fill it with helium. You can purchse helium from Party City, Kroger, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Kroger, and Publix. You might want to call ahead to make sure filling your own inflatable is allowed under their policy.
Want to go big?
It is possible to make your own inflatable. Depending on its size you may need to rent or purchase a canister of helium so you can inflate the balloon on site. Make sure you check local ordinances and get the proper permits before staging your action!
Sources
Baby Trump
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bring-the-baby-back
https://londonist.com/london/features/trump-baby-balloon
https://abcnews.go.com/US/baby-trump-balloon-slashed-deflated-protest-trumps-visit/story?id=66887133
https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/museum-of-london-acquires-trump-baby-balloon-1937805
Military Trump
Chicken Trump
https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/trump-chicken-white-house-1202522376/
Rat Trump
More Rat Trump
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-rat-baltimore-balloon-protest-republican-hotel-2019-9
https://www.washingtonian.com/2023/08/04/we-hung-out-all-day-outside-the-trump-arraignment/
KKK Trump
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/06/18/donald-trump-inflatable-kkk-costume-nr.cnn
This is awesome 😅
And my normal comment -
Call. Write. Email. Unrelentingly.
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to your own reps, as well as those in other states on a specific committee important to a topic you’re sharing. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit?usp=drivesdk