The giant baby blimp that makes Trump ‘feel unwelcome’ is coming to DC for July 4, but will have to fly almost a mile away from him

A giant orange balloon depicting Donald Trump as a baby will be present when the president delivers a speech at a 4th July event in Washington DC.
CODEPINK, the group behind the balloon, has been told it can only fly the balloon about a mile away from the Lincoln Memorial, where Trump is to deliver a speech.
"CODEPINK denounces the military aircraft and tanks that President Trump is ordering to militarize July 4, while the National Park Service is denying CODEPINK’s request to fly the Baby Trump balloon two feet off the ground," said the group in a statement.
The balloon famously attracted Trump’s ire when it flew at a mass protest that greeted the president on a visit to London in July, 2018.
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A giant balloon depicting president Donald Trump as a diaper-wearing orange baby will fly over the Mall in Washington DC at the 4th of July celebration — but it will be well out of sight of the president.

CODEPINK, the group behind the blimp, said in a statement that it had received permission from officials to fly the Trump balloon at the 4th July celebration.

It has previously been flown over anti-Trump protests in London and several US cities.

The balloon has famously attracted the ire of the president, who said it was designed to make him "feel unwelcome" when it was flown over a mass protest in London during his visit to the UK in July 2018.

Chris J. Ratcliffe/Getty Images

However, the National Parks Service said the balloon can only fly in a specific area near the Washington Monument, according to CNN. That means it will be nearly a mile away from the Lincoln Memorial, where Trump is to deliver a speech.

Floating balloons are banned on The Mall, meaning that the group cannot inflate it with helium but only cold air.

In a statement, Code Pink criticized the restrictions, saying it had requested a more prominent location for the balloon.

"CODEPINK denounces the military aircraft and tanks that President Trump is ordering to militarize July 4, while the National Park Service is denying CODEPINK’s request to fly the Baby Trump balloon two feet off the ground," said the group.

"Regarding the location, we had requested a space on the large, empty expanse at the base of the Washington Monument that would not have obstructed anyone’s view but would have allowed the president to see the baby. Instead we were only given location options that were outside the line of sight."

The president’s 4th of July celebrations will see tanks on the streets of Washington, and military jets to flying overhead. Some critics say the parade amounts to a politicization of a non-partisan day of national celebration.

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