(CNN)There’s literally only 1 rule with eclipses: Don’t examine the sun during them.
And, again:
And, because three times is a charm:
That’s Donald John Trump on the White House South Portico, seemingly looking directly into the sun. At the peak of this solar eclipse. Without on any kind of protective eyewear.
This, from the White House pool report of this moment filed by the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs is, um, amazing: “At approximately 2:39, the President initially gesticulated to the crowd below and pointed at the sky. As he did so, one of the White House aides standing beneath the Blue Room Balcony shouted ‘do not look.’”
Trump did, eventually, wear protective eyewear — as did first lady Melania Trump.
What Their son Barron got in on the action too:
Heck, even “beleaguered” Attorney General Jeff Sessions got on the protective eyewear bandwagon (alongside Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross)!
“The retina may translate light into an electrical impulse that the brain understands, but one thing it can’t translate to your brain is pain. So even if you’re excited about the eclipse and think one brief glimpse at the sun before it completely hides behind the moon is worth it — it’s not. There’s no internal trigger that is going to let you know that you’ve looked at the sun for too long. Any amount of looking at it is too long.
Even the smallest amount of exposure can cause blurry vision or temporary blindness. The problem is, you won’t know whether it’s temporary.”
Remember, Mr. President: “Any amount of looking is too long.”
CORRECTION: This story was updated to properly identify where the President was standing.
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