Pearl Jam Welcome ‘Baby Trump’ Balloon at London Gig
One of the more memorable images surrounding Donald Trump's recent visit to England was the giant orange "Baby Trump" balloon that turned up at the protests against the American president. Pearl Jam have been very vocal about their distaste for Trump, often voicing their opinion about him and his policies during shows, and during their London performance last night (July 17), fans were greeted by the "Baby Trump" dirigible outside of the O2 Arena gig.
Pearl Jam gave their blessing for the balloon to make an appearance, as many fans took photos of the inflatable for social media posts. Eddie Vedder's wife Jill also posted a photo of "Baby Trump," stating, "The band is back in London for their last show and they have a visitor #trumpbaby if you are attending the show from the US .. please remember to #VOTE2018 & #CallYourRepresentatives ... this balloon is hysterical but what is happening to our democracy is NOT funny in the slightest. Yesterday’s meeting was terrifying .. to say the least.... #CongressMakeAChoiceTrumpOrYourCount."
During their performance in London, Eddie Vedder addressed the crowd. "I know at home it feels very divisive ... and it feels like he's added such divisive energy to how we get along back home, but then I realized the other day watching all the protests down in the square, there were 250,000," stated Vedder (as seen in the video above). "He's actually bringing people together. You've got 250,000 protestors of all ages, cultures, different sexual orientations, maybe he's uniting people in a way that is gonna be needed in the near future."
The singer then read off some of his favorite signs from the protest, including, "God save the queen from the rotten tangerine," "Make empathy great again," "Too many tweets make a twat" and "All in all, you're just another prick with no wall." One of the signs that got the biggest reaction was, "Trump is as welcome as a 3rd Place World Cup playoff," referencing England's recent disappointment at their World Cup finish.
Pearl Jam have now concluded their summer European tour leg and will return stateside to kick off a series of baseball stadium appearances, starting Aug. 8 at Seattle's Safeco Field. See their current tour schedule here.
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