It seems Donald Trump missed a memo on solar eclipse safety protocol.
Despite scientists warning for weeks that looking directly at the sun without protective glasses during the total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, could cause severe eye damage and even blindness, the president, 71, was seen at the White House doing just that.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s Ted Mann, an aide quickly yelled to warn Trump as he took off his protective glasses to look at the sun. Mann tweeted: “As he did this, someone in a crowd of aides below shouted ‘Don’t look.’”
Trump, his wife Melania and son Barron were then seen wearing the eyewear as they stared up at the sky.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka promoted the eyewear just hours earlier on Instagram. “Excited for #Eclipse2017?” she wrote alongside a video of her putting them on. “Remember to wear your glasses ? #NASA #STEM.”
Many celebrities took to Twitter to talk about the glasses on Monday. “Really upset I didn’t get eclipse glasses,” Sarah Hyland tweeted. “#dork” Sarah Silverman added: “F—k I didn’t get eclipse glasses. How am I suppose to remember to not look in the sky when it’s suddenly dark tomorrow morning????”
See the best reaction’s to Trump’s eclipse-viewing misstep below:
Scientists: Don’t look at the eclipse without special glasses
Donald Trump: Fake news pic.twitter.com/g4TlS34GpF
— Moe (@MoeAlayan) August 21, 2017
Literally every news outlet: Don’t look directly into the sun during the eclipse.
Donald Trump: pic.twitter.com/Xbd8d4K1GM
— RickyFTW (@rickyftw) August 21, 2017
NASA: It is extremely dangerous and a terrible decision to look at the sun during the eclipse
Donald Trump: pic.twitter.com/TYjHkL24Vn
— DARE STATS (@Dare_Stats) August 21, 2017
Scientist: Don’t look directly at the sun.
Trump: ‘Fake News’ pic.twitter.com/cSAIKMiGkd
— DC Maryland Virginia (@DMVFollowers) August 21, 2017
I truly wish there was money I could have wagered on “Donald Trump Will Look Directly At The Sun During The Eclipse” before today. https://t.co/DAVmjcogMs
— Ben Wyman (@benwyman) August 21, 2017
I’m on the other side of the planet laughing hysterically at the pictures of Trump looking right into the sun. Sums him up perfectly.
— Matt Burnell (@mdburnell) August 21, 2017
