The 20-foot-tall “Baby Trump” balloon made an appearance at President Trump’s rally in Florida on Tuesday after the balloon was knifed and deflated at a previous event.
The Miami Herald reports that the balloon was closely monitored on Tuesday by police officers as well as a group of volunteers who are trained to deescalate crowds.
The orange balloon, which depicts Trump in a diaper with a cellphone, was last seen when the president attended the Alabama-LSU football game in Tuscaloosa, Ala., earlier this month.
The balloon was knifed outside the game and quickly deflated, prompting the security detail for its appearance on Tuesday. An Alabama man named Hoyt Hutchinson was arrested and charged with felony first-degree criminal mischief in connection to the deflating incident.
“Baby Trump has gotten viciously attacked, and that’s just not respectful,” said Rochelle Lessner, a retired attorney from Hollywood and designated volunteer bodyguard for the balloon, according to the Herald. “I donated $50 to bring him here.”
The balloon appeared outside the BB&T Center a few hours before Trump was slated to speak at his “homecoming” event in Broward County. Trump recently changed his primary residence from Trump Tower in New York City to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
The Baby Trump balloon often appears at events in protest of Trump and first gained widespread attention during Trump’s visit to London last year.