Protests ramp up on Day 2 of Trump’s U.K. visit; live updates
Anti-Trump protests were planned for Tuesday in London, including a robotic “Trump” sat upon a toilet that will be paraded around the city — along with the infamous “Trump baby” balloon.
Mr. Trump’s spat with London Mayor Sadiq Khan has played out on Twitter. On Monday, the president compared him to one of his arch rivals, Bill de Blasio.
“I don’t think much of him,” the president said of Khan Sunday night. “I think that he’s the twin of de Blasio, except shorter.” Mr. Trump called Khan a “stone cold loser.”
Khan criticized Mr. Trump in 2016 for his views on Islam, calling Mr. Trump “ignorant.” At the time, Mr. Trump responded by questioning Khan’s IQ.
Despite low approval ratings in the U.K., the president tweeted that he thought the media would have to work “hard” to find people demonstrating against his presence in the British capital. Over the past couple days, a handful of demonstrators have popped up in London wearing Mr. Trump’s trademark “MAGA” hats, supporting his visit.
As CBS News’ Haley Ott reported, an American dinosaur and robotics expert commissioned a giant, $25,000 robot depicting the U.S. president on a golden toilet, tweeting. The robot, which made its debut on Tuesday at the protest epicenter in London’s Trafalgar Square, says — in Mr. Trump’s voice — phrases including, “No collusion,” and “I’m a very stable genius.”
Don Lessem, the founder of Pennsylvania-based Dino Don Inc., which creates robotic dinosaur exhibits around the world, commissioned the robot. He was an adviser on the Steven Spielberg movie, Jurassic Park, and has written 40 books on natural history, according to the company’s website.
“He uses humor as his weapon of choice to combat what he thinks is a very serious problem,” Dre Demas, chief installer for Dino Don Inc., told CBS News on Monday.
“We absolutely want Trump and his politics of hate to feel unwelcome,” Anna Vickerstaff, an organizer of the balloon protest, told CBS News. “We know that we need a working relationship with the U.S., and we’re not saying that he shouldn’t be here at all. What we are protesting is the level at which the red carpet has been rolled out for him.”
A few dozen people showed up to see the balloon inflated, including some American tourists who had rearranged their visits to London to participate in the demonstrations.
Roy and daughter Allison were visiting from Minnesota to celebrate her graduation from college.
“If he’s here to try and say he’s representing our country, I think we have to be here to say that he isn’t,” Allison told CBS News.
One British demonstrator wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat said he was nervous about being in the minority, but wanted to make sure there were a plurality of voices represented.
“What I want people to do today is have a bit of civil discourse, find some common ground. Don’t just say, ‘Orange man bad,'” he said.
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