From Windsor walls to banners, why Trump-Epstein photos are all over London

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania are in the United Kingdom. But even before that, the American leader has received a British welcome — or should we say unwelcome — as pranksters projected images of him with his arm around sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto Windsor Castle, the home of the British royal family.

It has been reported that more such Trump protests are likely to take place amid his second state visit to the United Kingdom, some fearing that they would overshadow all the planned pomp and pageantry.

For Trump, these demonstrations may evoke memories of the past. In 2019, when the US president made his first state visit to the United Kingdom, he was welcomed by the ‘Trump baby’ blimp that flew over the British and later became a meme.

Trump welcomed to UK with protests

As Donald Trump landed in the United Kingdom for his second state visit, an unprecedented moment as typically US presidents serving a second term are not offered a state visit, he was welcomed with a unique protest.

Photos of Trump with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein were displayed onto the brick walls of Windsor Castle. In addition to that image taken at the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, other images, including a birthday letter Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein more than 20 years ago, was also projected on the walls along with a mugshot of Trump when he was charged in Atlanta with crimes related to his effort to undo his 2020 election loss in the state of Georgia.

Images of Prince Andrew alongside Epstein were also shone on the screen for passers by in the Berkshire town to see, reported The Daily Mail.

The stunt at the royal residence resulted in the arrest of four people.

But that’s not it. Even before Trump landed on British soil, activists belonging to the political campaign group Everyone Hates Elon unveiled a large banner emblazoned with an image of Trump and Epstein on the lawn outside Windsor Castle.

Speaking on the banner, a group spokesman said: “Trump’s supporters are tearing themselves apart over the Epstein files. Now he’s hoping to escape it all to have tea with the King. But there’s no way we’re letting him use our country to polish his image. Most people here hate what he stands for. We’re ready to make sure Epstein haunts him everywhere he goes.”

The banner has since been removed.

Earlier too, this group had posted an advertisement on bus stops, which read ‘Donald Trump is a rapist’ and even a parody memorial plaque on a bench on Trump’s Aberdeen golf course in Scotland.

More protests are expected throughout Trump’s whirlwind trip. The Stop Trump Coalition — which comprises over 50 unions and charities — says they will stage a national demonstration against Trump’s state visit on Wednesday. This group was also responsible for a protest against the US president’s previous visit to the UK.

A spokesperson for the Stop Trump Coalition was quoted as saying: “We are protesting against this undeserved state visit to make sure the world knows this is not done in our name.

“The UK government is rolling out the red carpet so we want to show the massive opposition to Trump and creeping fascism – and pressure our own government in the UK to stand up to Trump and his disastrous policies and show solidarity with people who are already suffering from their effects, from the US to Palestine.”

Reasons for Trump’s ‘unwelcome’ in the UK

While Trump has expressed his happiness to return to the UK — he told reporters as he touched down in London, “A lot of things here warm my heart. It’s a very special place” — protesters are coming out in large numbers to demonstrate against the US president.

In fact, even before Trump arrived in Britain, protesters at Windsor were chanting ‘Dump Trump’. As one protester told the Daily Mail, “I am beyond disappointed. Donald Trump as a person is… fuelling a lot of the far-right protests that we’re already having here.

“It’s a humongous problem,” she said, days after an estimated 150,000 attended a London rally organised by far-Right activist Tommy Robinson.

Even London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, who shares tense ties with the American leader’ has expressed disdain over Trump’s visit. On the evening of Trump’s arrival, Khan published an opinion piece in the Guardian, in which he says Trump has “perhaps done the most to fan the flames of divisive, far-right politics around the world in recent years”.

He added that Trump’s recent decision to deploy troops to US cities was “straight out of the autocrat’s playbook”.

There’s also the Epstein shadow that continues to loom over Trump and one of the other reasons why the American leader is at the receiving end of these protests. A recent poll even showed that more than 60 per cent of Britons have an unfavourable view of Trump.

Memories of ‘Trump baby’ blimp evoked

The protests in London against the US president is similar to the ones that occurred in 2018 before his first state visit to UK. A 20-foot-tall balloon depicting Trump as a snarling, nappy-wearing orange baby first floated over Parliament Square in July 2018 in protest of Trump’s visit to the UK. It was flown for a second time during his state visit in June 2019, which also sparked mass protests.

The balloon was created by Leo Murray and co-designed by artist Matt Bonner, was originally created to mock Trump. It soon became a symbol of international opposition to his administration and even secured its place in history after being acquired by a British museum.

According to Max Wakefield, one of the organisers of the protests then even explained the rationale behind the blimp. “This isn’t just about Trump, this is about the rise of far-right politics that dehumanises people in order to get into power.” He mentioned the detention of immigrant children in the US and Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement as among the reasons for the protest.

He added, “The only way that you can make any impact with Donald Trump is to mock him, because you can’t engage him in any kind of argument — it never gets anywhere.”

“This is an attempt to introduce some good British humour into the political discourse surrounding Trump’s visit.”

However, for those hoping to see the ‘Trump Baby’ blimp flying over London skies this time around, there’s bad news: the balloon won’t make an appearance.

With inputs from agencies

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