Baby Trump balloon to appear at Puerto Rico protest rally in West Palm

Sept. 21--It's big, angry and orange all over.

The Baby Trump balloon will make the first of what likely will be many appearances in Palm Beach County at a protest and rally Saturday in a West Palm Beach amphitheater to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria's direct hit to Puerto Rico.

The devastating storm resulted in severe power outages and the deaths of nearly 3,000 residents. It led to sharp criticism of President Trump and his administration's response to the crisis.

Saturday's events -- organized by Power 4 Puerto Rico, the Latino Victory Project and Alianza for Progress -- are scheduled to include a drive-by of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, a rally with performing artists at Meyer Amphitheatre and a vigil to honor those who died.

The Baby Trump balloon, which will hover above the amphitheater grounds, is identical to the inflatable floated over Parliament Square Gardens in London during the president's 4-day visit to the United Kingdom in July.

It is one of six replicas making their way around the United States on a tour organized by the People's Motorcade. That's a group of anti-Trump activists in New Jersey who motorcade past Trump's golf course in Bedminster on Saturdays during the summer, regardless of whether the president is visiting.

The group launched the Baby Trump Tour after raising $23,748 in a GoFundMe campaign that they originally hoped would raise $4,500. With enough money for six balloons, the group set up an adoption protocol for groups that want to host a Baby Trump balloon for an event.

The group also provides a 24/7 "pediatric hotline" for the balloons' adoptive parents with tips and advice on inflating, deflating, security and tethering Baby Trump. The group is also looking for "babysitters" to help set-up the balloon kids, prepare them for shipping and manage them at events.

"We try to make it as comical as the balloon is," said Jim Girvan, co-founder of People's Motorcade. "Scary and comical."

Mark Offerman, a 45-year-old Wellington activist well-known on the Palm Beach County anti-Trump protest circuit, filled out the adoption papers. Offerman was selected to host one of the six U.S. versions and is now custodian of a Baby Trump balloon through April. Trump usually visits Mar-a-Lago between Thanksgiving and Easter.

"It's going to keep me busy," said Offerman.

The Baby Trump balloon will join the Trumpmobile -- a 29-foot limousine billboard -- and dueling motorcade billboards as the county's most visible exhibits of the county's love/hate relationship with the 45th President.

The organizers of Saturday's event accuse Trump of failing to provide adequate relief after the storm wiped out the country's power grid.

A caravan of protesters will begin in Miami on Saturday morning and make its way north, where it will drive by Mar-a-Lago and arrive at the Meyer Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach at about 2 p.m. The rally features speakers, musicians and the Baby Trump balloon until 7 p.m.

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