'Baby Trump' Balloon Takes First Flight In NJ

CALIFON, NJ — The "Baby Trump" balloon has taken his first flight in New Jersey and it was successful, activist Jim Girvan of Branchburg said.

The 20-foot-tall balloon — depicting President Donald Trump as an angry, diaper-wearing, cell phone-carrying baby — took to the air on Monday on a private property in Califon in Hunterdon County.

"It went very well," Girvan said. "Everyone was very excited about doing it. The balloon performed exactly as we hoped it would. And we were able to finalize the guidance document for when we share the balloons with others so that they have everything they need to have a successful flight."

To get "Baby Trump" in the air, Girvan said they used about 500 cubic feet of helium. They let the balloon rise about 30 feet, but Girvan said it can go as high as 50 feet — which is well below the Federal Aviation Administration height limitations of nothing higher than 150 feet in the air.

With the test going so well, Girvan is now looking for a property in Bedminster to be able to fly the balloon near the golf course. However, Girvan says it may be difficult to find a public piece of property to host an event and may opt for using a private piece of property instead.

Moving forward, west coasters will soon have a chance to see "Baby Trump" in action as well. Girvan said the "Baby Trump" California tour will be beginning in the next couple of weeks, which could very well be the first public event for the balloon.

The balloon already has one scheduled public event at Politicon 2018 in Los Angeles on Oct. 20 where "Baby Trump will be indoors at the Los Angeles Convention Center for this annual non-partisan political show.

The balloon initially made its debut on July 13 when Trump visited Great Britain. Girvan then started a GoFundMe fundraiser to bring a "Baby Trump" to America raising $23,748 and surpassing the original $4,500 goal. (See related: 'Baby Trump' Blimp Is Coming To Bedminster)

With the extra money raised Girvan was able to get six balloons. Of the six, two have already been delivered to New Jersey.

• (See related: First Two 'Baby Trump' Balloons Delivered To NJ)
• (Related: Number Of 'Baby Trumps' Balloons To 6)

With the number of "Baby Trumps" ballooning, Girvan started Baby Trump Adoption Service offering other activists the opportunity to adopt one of the balloons.

For more information on adopting a balloon or to follow the tour visit babytrumptour.org or Twitter.

(Image and video via YouTube)

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