Trump Baby Blimp Effort In New Jersey Draws Trouble

Trump supporters are plotting to pop the Trump Baby blimps and launch Make America Great Again balloons.
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A New Jersey effort to launch Trump Baby blimps modeled after one that was a central feature of London protests during President Donald Trump’s recent visit has hit some turbulence, according to news reports.

Activists Didier Jimenez-Castro of Hillsborough and Jim Girvan of Branchburg said they were captivated by images of the overinflated Trump Baby, with its snarling face, orange complexion and tiny hands, floating above the London protests. So, they launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $4,500 for a similar Trump Baby balloon that could be flown over protests near Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, where the president often spends weekends.

The fundraising campaign found quick success, raising more than $23,000 ―enough for four Trump Baby balloons ― before it stopped taking donations.

Trump supporter Kathie Kitt Conklin of Manchester took issue with the Trump Baby effort, and vowed to pop the balloons, the Asbury Park Press reported. She set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for bail in the event she was arrested. GoFundMe removed the page, saying it did not meet its terms of service.

Two other GoFundMe pages have since been posted by opponents of the Trump Baby balloons. One, set up by Michael Boland of Allenhurst, seeks $2,500 to prevent Trump Baby balloons from flying. The other, with no sponsor’s name on it, is seeking $4,500 for Make America Great Again balloons. As of early Friday, neither of those pages had received donations.

Meanwhile, Jimenez-Castro told the Bridgewater Courier News that Trump supporters have been calling and emailing the homeless shelter where he works in an effort to have him fired.

“I love my job. It is everything to me,” Jimenez-Castro, who works full time at the shelter and part time at a supermarket, told the newspaper. “I respect my full-time job. That’s where I get my happiness from. I was told to keep my work and my activism separate and I do.”

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