Artists set up giant inflatable of President Trump with rodent-like features near Trump Tower

An inflatable rat resembling U.S. president Donald Trump ballooned up at a busy street corner in New York on Monday.

The 15-foot inflatable is the brainchild of gallery owner John Post Lee, who started a crowd funding campaign to raise $8,000 (USD) to commission the project.

“Castigat Ridendo Mores’ is Latin for ‘Ridicule corrects morals.’ And I believe that art, given certain scale and certain types of thought processes can be an effective way to change the world maybe a little bit,” Lee told Reuters.

The inflatable is designed by artist Jeffrey Beebe and is made by a company in Ohio. It has a long rat tail, confederate flag cufflinks and a Russian Federation lapel pin. On Monday it took over the corner of 59th street and Fifth Avenue, a few blocks away from Trump Tower.

Inflatable rats, or union rats, are commonly used in the United States by workers protesting against their employers or against non-union contractors.

Trump is expected to return to Trump Tower later on Monday for a three day visit.