Remember the giant baby Trump? The balloon went up in London in 2018 and 2019 as a protest against the state visits of then US President Donald Trump to the United Kingdom. The balloon came into the hands of the Museum of London in 2021, which has now re-inflated it during an extensive review of baby Trump. The intention is that the balloon will have a “final resting place” in the new building of the Museum of London in 2026.
Designed by Matt Bonner, the huge 20-foot orange inflatable doll depicts Donald Trump as an angry baby, wearing a diaper and holding a smartphone. The last time baby Trump floated in the air was in June 2019, when over Parliament Square in London, as a protest against Trump’s state visit. Trump also met Queen Elizabeth II and then British Prime Minister Theresa May in June 2018. 75,000 Protestants then met baby Trump for the first time.
The inflatable doll went to the Museum of London in January 2021. It has now carried out some tests to determine how long the air would remain in the balloon and whether minor repairs to the material were necessary. “It is always a challenge to preserve items that are meant to have a short life, such as the Trump blimp,” said the spokesman for the Museum of London. “It then had to be a fast, flexible and visible icon in 2019, as a counterpart to the permanent statues in Parliament Square that are made of much more sustainable materials.”
The museum collaborated with University College London and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia to check baby Trump’s plastic. “Plastics age and break down in sometimes unexpected ways,” explains the spokesperson. “This will help us learn how best to preserve it as part of our collection over the long term.”
Baby Trump will be part of the Museum of London’s protest collection, with other museum exhibits related to protests, such as objects about the women’s suffrage movement, banners, flags and placards from protests for more accessible public transport.
The Museum of London moves to West Smithfield. The opening is planned for 2026.
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