Trumps watch solar eclipse from White House balcony

US President Donald Trump, first lady Melania and their son Barron stepped out onto the Truman Balcony of the White House to view the solar eclipse.

>>Reuters
Published : 22 August 2017, 08:03 AM
Updated : 22 August 2017, 08:11 AM

But the US president risked damage to his eyes when he looked directly at the eclipse without protective glasses. He turned away as an aide yelled “Don’t look!”

Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House in Washington, US, Aug 21, 2017. Reuters

“When you look directly at the sun, the intensity of the light and the focus of the light is so great on the retina that it can cook it,” Dr Christopher Quinn, president of the American Optometric Association told CNN. “If the exposure is great enough, that can and will lead to permanent reduction in vision and even blindness.”

The last time such a spectacle unfolded from one US coast to the other was in 1918. The last total eclipse seen anywhere in the United States took place in 1979.