Thousands protest against US president Donald Trump in London

Thousands of people protested in central London on Tuesday against U.S. President Donald Trump’s pomp-laden state visit to Britain, but numbers were far down from the tens of thousands who gathered to oppose his visit last year.

A 20-foot-tall blimp depicting President Donald Trump in a diaper was raised Tuesday morning in London, with thousands protesting against the U.S. president’s state visit to the U.K.

The giant balloon named “Trump Baby” was unveiled at 10:30 a.m. London time near the U.K.’s Houses of Parliament, close to where protesters marched to show their discontent against the president and his policies. Organizers said winds in the U.K. capital had delayed a full flight for the balloon, but by 11:15 a.m. it had been raised 30 feet above the ground.

A rally held by the Stop Trump Coalition and other campaign groups started at 11 a.m. London time, and thousands walked from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street as the president’s schedule unfolded. London’s Metropolitan Police put up a blockade, but protesters were allowed a clear view of the access to the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing St.

The crowd, of a several thousand strong, was far down on the tens of thousands who protested when Trump first visited Britain as president in July 2018.

There were small pockets of support. A few men wearing red caps with “Make America Great Again” walked among the crowd. Trump supporters said the protests against him were an insult to the leader of the United Kingdom’s most powerful ally.