US President Donald Trump landed in the United Kingdom late Tuesday for his much-touted second state visit that comes amid criticism of Trump’s policies and his murky past with the late financier and abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
Creativity in protest
The political campaign group Led By Donkeys, who combine art and activism, confirmed that they were behind the public stunt which saw several images of Trump and Epstein projected on to a tower, while a soundtrack questioning the relationship between the two men was played on a speaker.
“Trump is being welcomed to our country, being given the unique honor of a second state visit, and it’s being housed at our expense at Windsor Castle,” a spokesperson for the group told British newspaper The Guardian, adding that they felt that US president’s “incredibly close links to America’s most notorious child sex trafficker” shouldn’t be left out of the discussion.
Trump is under increasing pressure following the release of a note that he allegedly signed, in which he wishes the sex offender happy birthday and alludes to “wonderful secrets.”
Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a federal jail in New York in 2019 after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges, which he’d denied. His accomplice, former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison term for crimes related to procuring underage girls whom Epstein sexually abused.
After the images of Trump and Epstein were projected on to Windsor Castle, four people were arrested on suspicion of “malicious communications following a public stunt in Windsor.” They remain in custody, according to Thames Valley Police.
“We projected a piece of journalism on to a wall and now people have been arrested for malicious communications. I think that, frankly, says a lot more about the policing of Trump’s visit than it does about what we did,” added the Led By Donkeys spokesperson.
An activist group called Everyone Hates Elon also unveiled what they call the “world’s largest photo” of Trump and Epstein just outside Windsor Castle ahead of Trump’s stay. The massive banner display has since been removed.
‘Donald Trump not welcome here’
About 70 protesters from the Stop Trump Coalition also gathered outside Windsor Castle on Tuesday to demonstrate peacefully against Trump; it was the first in a series of planned demonstrations against the US president throughout his stay, which ends on Thursday.
People held up placards and banners condemning the president, chanting “Trump out” and “Say it loud, say it clear: Donald Trump not welcome here.”
Speaking to The Guardian, Jake Atkinson, spokesperson for the Stop Trump Coalition, said: “Donald Trump’s politics are politics of fascism and authoritarianism. Not only are we making our voices heard in opposition to Trump and his politics, but we want to send a signal to our government, that this is not how the British people feel, it’s not what the British people want.”
“We want to stand in solidarity with people in the US, with people in Palestine, with people in Ukraine, and with people all over the world who are seeing Trump’s politics do damage to our democracy and to our planet.”
As with the protests that took place in London during Trump’s first state visit in 2019, placards have shown both creative word play and downright directness. Some have even capitalized on Trump’s propensity to describe favorable things as “great,” while others simply let the pictures do the talking.
Absent Windsor resident
Some placards featured references to Prince Andrew, King Charles’ younger brother, who lives at the Royal Lodge located at Windsor Great Park. He will however be a notable absentee during this state visit and is reportedly also not on the guest list for the lavish state dinner.
Commentators have said that the palace wants to distance itself from Andrew, given the possibility of more incriminating evidence being revealed as the US House Committee releases thousands of Epstein files.
The late Queen Elizabeth II had stripped him of his His Royal Highness (HRH) and military titles and removed him from public-facing duties after his 2019 bombshell interview with the BBC, where he detailed his friendship with Epstein, which led to legal action in the US.
Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, who took her own life this year, had alleged that Epstein had introduced her to Prince Andrew when she was 17, and that the latter had sexually abused her three times.
The prince, who has denied all claims against him, reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022, which contained no admission of liability or apology.
‘Not a laughing matter anymore’
Meanwhile, one of the most recognizable artifacts of the protests during Trump’s 2019 state visit will not be making an appearance this time.
The “Trump Baby” blimp, created by Leo Murray and co-designed by artist Matt Bonner, was an orange inflatable that depicted Trump as an angry baby wearing a nappy and holding a mobile phone.
It first floated over London’s Parliament Square in July 2018 when people protested the planned Trump visit; it was flown for a second time during his state visit in June 2019 that also witnessed mass protests.
Speaking to The Independent, Murray explained: “Back in 2019, Donald Trump was a figure of fun for the British public. Most people thought he was an idiot, and we were amazed that the American people had elected this guy to be the president.”
But the man behind the “Trump Baby” blimp feels that the political climate is different today, and it is “not really a laughing matter anymore,” adding that after the 2019 protests, people involved with the blimp had received death threats and were tracked down at their places of work by far-right activists.
The blimp now belongs to the Museum of London, and will be unveiled next year when the museum opens its new home.
Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier
