Michigan To Host, Or Fly, A Baby Trump Balloon This Weekend
According to the Detroit Free Press, Donald Trump is making an appearance in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this weekend, except it will not really be the president. It will be an inflatable infant attached to strings that, for all intents and purposes, represents the man in the White House.
While the event, scheduled for October 27 in Rosa Parks Circle, has fun intentions, it also is being held to shed some light on what the event’s organizers view as negative rhetoric from President Trump.
The event “will include music, speakers and information about November’s midterm elections,” so it has plans that span farther than flying a balloon baby around.
While this is apparently the only time the balloon will be in Michigan, it is not its first flight.
According to New Jersey, the baby balloon made an appearance in New Jersey, back in August. In fact, it was not just one balloon the organizers ordered, but six. The organizers, no matter which state is hosting the giant balloons, use the events for charity, as well. According to Detroit Free Press, any proceeds “raised will go to support local arts charity outreach programs.”
Trump "Baby Blimp" flies over Chicago women’s rally ahead of midterms https://t.co/IB8mHd3Uxh pic.twitter.com/Kk2TdnZCWm
— The Hill (@thehill) October 14, 2018
The New Jersey organizers, Jim Girvan and Didier Jimenez-Castro, got the idea to bring the “Trump Balloon” to New Jersey after the balloon made an appearance in the United Kingdom back in July.
According to Newsday, the baby balloon shocked crowds at a protest on July 13, 2018. The balloon was orange, had a blonde comb-over, wore a diaper, and appeared to be crying. The balloons in the United States are the same, as they are trying to convey the same message.
With midterm elections right around the corner, organizers are hoping to make a big statement to voters about the importance of voting in a way that will impede President Trump’s rhetoric and mission. It is their hopes that by representing the president in a blatantly infantile, mocking way, that people will realize that the statement, while funny, holds some truth and quality.
The balloon has made recent appearances in Chicago and Florida. It seems that “organizers are finalizing a Manhattan appearance at Battery Park on October 27,” so the baby balloon will be making a trip to the Big Apple. It is lucky for the organizers that their GoFundMe page “raised $23,747 from more than 1,000 people,” allowing them to buy six balloons, so that they can be in multiple places at once.
