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| 'Baby Trump' flies above the One-Eyed Pig |
FSN Sports
Amid Donald Trump’s long-awaited state visit to the United Kingdom, the British royal family appears to have escalated tensions between the two governments with one simple gesture: an invitation to Sir QCurl Sharif that was glaringly not extended to the U.S. president.
After issuing a public statement that ongoing renovations precluded the possibility of Trump staying overnight at Buckingham Palace during his visit, word leaked that Sharif had been invited to be an overnight guest on Monday and Tuesday nights — an invitation that Sharif and his entourage eagerly accepted.
The move was viewed as an obvious snub to Trump by the royal family, who have been on friendly terms with Sharif even before Queen Elizabeth granted him a knighthood last year. “The invitation to Sir Q was no mere coincidence nor a mistake in scheduling by the Palace,” said Professor Trevor St. John-Suckling, who has written extensively about the royal family. “Word of such things does not leak out by accident. Her Majesty and Prince Phillip clearly wanted the British people to know that they had taken sides, and it was not the side of Donald J. Trump.”
After the story was initially reported by The Guardian, Trump angrily tweeted, “FAKE NEWS! Queen Eliz. and I have the best relationship. She told me she wants to make America GREAT again, which of course means she would vote for me in 2020. Don’t believe Muslim-controlled British MEDIA and LOSER Muslim team owner!”
But on Tuesday, it became clear that the story was anything but fake. As photographers snapped photos, Sharif and Prince Phillip waved to the crowd from a balcony at the palace, the prince wore a London Bakers soccer scarf around his neck. Another photo, published in the Daily Mirror, showed Sharif, Prince Harry and Megan Markle sitting on a sofa together and sharing a large bowl of popcorn as they watched an old episode of the American TV series “The Rockford Files” on a large screen. The newspaper accompanied the photo with a large headline that read: “Sir Q’s Sleepover at the Palace.”
Brexiteer Nigel Farage denounced the invitation to Sharif as “outrageous” and “a provocation for dissolving the monarchy forever,” but public sentiment appeared to rest strongly with the queen and Sharif.
Crowds of anti-Trump protesters gathered next to the palace in St. James Park chanted “Hate Trump, Love Bakers!” and, in a reference to Sharif’s London nightclub, “One-Eyed Pig Beats Fascist Pig!”
Early Monday afternoon, Sir Q and Bakers coach Snoop Dogg arrived at the park, accompanied by four large delivery trucks filled with hamburgers from the McDonald’s at nearby Victoria Station. They handed sandwiches to the cheering crowd as Sharif proclaimed that he was treating Londoners to a “Trump state dinner.”
Later that afternoon, protesters brought the now-famous “Baby Trump” balloon to the One-Eyed Pig and fastened to the building’s roof, where it continued to fly like a tribal flag. On Tuesday, another giant balloon appeared — this one with the likeness of Trump’s press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and a sign that read “Two-Eyed Pig.”
Coupled with Sharif’s earlier call for a “British Green New Deal” that would rebuild the nation’s economy around marijuana cultivation, some observers saw Sir Q’s presence as part of a nascent political movement. But Sharif himself was mostly mum. As he handed out Quarter Pounders, one Sky News correspondent got close enough to ask Sharif whether he planned to seek a seat in Parliament. “I am the queen’s humble servant,” Sir Q replied, a bit cryptically. “And tonight the queen has asked to be served some green caviar.”
