As the solar eclipse passed over the White House on Monday, President Donald Trump stared directly into the sun without protective glasses — twice.At approximately 2:39 p.m. ET, Trump, standing on a White House balcony overlooking the South Lawn, pointed up at the sky and looked directly into the sun without the eclipse glasses provided to him for the solar event. As he did so, “one of the White House aides standing beneath the Blue Room Balcony shouted ‘Don’t look!’” according to a White House pool report.
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About four minutes later, Trump again squinted directly into the sun without protective glasses for approximately one more second.At one point, first lady Melania Trump also took her glasses off and looked directly into the sun. Their 11-year-old son, Barron, who was standing with them on the balcony, did not appear to look up without glasses.Experts have warned that even a small amount of exposure could lead to permanent blurry vision or blindness.