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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Trumps cheered at Alabama LSU game, while outside Baby Trump balloon slashed
2019-11-10
[Twitter-NBC]


‘Baby Trump’ balloon slashed at Alabama appearance

[HindustanTimes] The incident occurred during Trump’s visit to watch the University of Alabama football game. The balloon, which is over 20 feet (6.1 meters) tall, was set up in a nearby park.

A towering "Baby Trump" protest balloon was knifed and deflated by someone unhappy with its appearance during President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
’s Saturday trip to Alabama, organizers said.

The incident occurred during Trump’s visit to watch the University of Alabama football game. The balloon, which is over 20 feet (6.1 meters) tall, was set up in a nearby park.

Jim Girvan, the organizer of a group that "adopts" out the Trump balloons for protests, said a man charged the balloon with a knife and cut an 8-foot-long (2.4-meter-long) gash in the back. Girvan said the unidentified man was taken into custody. Tuscaloosa police did not immediately respond to a request for more details.

The orange, diaper-clad, cellphone-clutching caricature of the president is often taken to Trump appearances as a way to protest him.

Baby Trump first rose over London when local activists brainstormed a way to troll Trump. Now several groups raise money to bring balloon replicas around the U.S.

Robert Kennedy, a volunteer "baby sitter" who brought the balloon to Tuscaloosa, said the balloon immediately began to sag after it was cut.

The day had been going mostly smoothly, Kennedy said. Some people yelled "Trump 2020" as they passed while others posed for selfies with the balloon. But then Kennedy said a man sidled up on the back of the balloon and attacked it with a knife. He bravely ran away but was caught by coppers, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said he’s accompanied Baby Trump to many appearances and never witnessed an attack on the balloon, although someone did stab a "Baby Trump" balloon in London earlier this year.

"It is rare to get that kind of anger," Kennedy said.
From Frank G’s linkin the comments below:
Thirty-two-year-old Hoyt Hutchinson of Tuscaloosa cut an eight-foot gash in the side of the 20-foot inflatable balloon. As he tried to run away, Tuscaloosa police caught him. Hutchinson was charged with a felony – first-degree criminal mischief – and held on a $2,500 bond.
Posted by:3dc

#11  Painful nostalgia... lucky to still have both my eyes. Haven't viewed this vid -- hopefully nothing too crazy.

Posted by: Cyrano de Flogerac6220   2019-11-10 23:54  

#10  And the tycoon happens to be a Republican President !
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-11-10 23:44  

#9  The irony here. A man called Robert Kennedy hauling around a giant balloon which looks like a 'baby' version of a real estate tycoon. And fails to protect even that.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-11-10 23:40  

#8  ruprecht,
"wrist-rocket"? Pls explain, thx
Posted by: Lex   2019-11-10 23:35  

#7  Wonder if he would have been caught if instead of stabbing he'd used a wrist-rocket to silently put dozens of holes in the thing,
Posted by: ruprecht   2019-11-10 23:27  

#6  As Nobel-winner Obama says, "when they stab, we stab back twice as hard."
Posted by: Regular joe   2019-11-10 13:04  

#5  According to local reporting, the cost to bring the Baby Trump balloon to the event was $4,000 and $7882 was raised. $3882 will be donated to the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery.

A GoFundMe page was set up for Hutchinson’s legal fees and restitution. The goal was set at $6,000. As I write this Sunday morning, $20,256 has been raised.
Posted by: Frank G   2019-11-10 11:22  

#4  My salute to the 'slasher'.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-11-10 11:01  

#3  Tuscaloosa police did not immediately respond to a request for more details.

"We're still trying to decide which medal we can give him, and if he knows which road those balloon guys are gonna take out of town."
Posted by: Matt   2019-11-10 10:35  

#2  Great game. Even greater reception for POTUS & FLOTUS.

Anyone else getting the sense that the (T)ide has turned (sorry, Bama)-- seriously, that things are starting to break in Trump's direction?

Baghdadi & his successor--titzup shortly after Trump's bold decision re Syria.

Impeachment-- complete and utter farce. Zero impact on public opinion, zero chance of success, Pelosi's now distancing herself and trying to rush it through and get it over with ASAP.

Economy-- hasn't been stronger in a generation.

China's capitulating. The Wall's being built. Brexit is finally moving forward with Johnson preparing for a big win Dec 12.

Maybe LSU's snapping it's losing streak win was a sign that America is snapping its 30-year losing streak?
Posted by: Lex   2019-11-10 09:18  

#1  "It is rare to get that kind of anger," Kennedy said.

"Except on our side"?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-11-10 03:30  

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