In a playful public service announcement, President Joe Biden took a lighthearted swipe at former President Donald Trump, advising Americans to use caution during the recent solar eclipse. In a video shared on social media, Biden, sporting protective eyewear, urged viewers to not be “silly” by directly looking at the sun without proper safety glasses. This message came alongside footage of Biden on the White House balcony, a location notably used by Trump in 2017 during a partial solar eclipse, where Trump was seen without protective glasses.
The advice underscores warnings from eye care professionals about the risks of looking at the sun, even briefly during an eclipse, without the appropriate eyewear. Such actions can lead to permanent vision damage, making the use of eclipse glasses, which provide significantly more protection than regular sunglasses, crucial for safe viewing.
The video seems to playfully reference an incident involving Trump, who was photographed removing his eclipse glasses to look directly at the sun during the 2017 eclipse. This moment was also recalled by Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in the 2016 election, who took to social media with a reminder, featuring a photo of Trump squinting at the eclipse.
The eclipse, a celestial event drawing the interest of over 180 million people along its path, traveled from Mexico’s Pacific Coast across North America, affecting 15 US states before reaching Newfoundland, Canada. New Yorkers experienced the phenomenon just after 2 p.m. on Monday, with a notable coronal mass ejection expected to add a spectacular element to the event, as per Ryan French of the National Solar Observatory.
For those viewing the eclipse, proper eyewear or a handheld solar viewer was recommended to prevent eye injury during the partial eclipse phases. The next total solar eclipse, anticipated for August 12, 2026, will offer totality views in various countries, including Greenland, Iceland, and portions of Spain and Russia.
As Biden was scheduled to be in Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago, far west of the eclipse’s path of totality, it remains unclear if he viewed the eclipse. This playful exchange comes amidst the backdrop of an expected electoral rematch, with recent polls showing a tight race between Biden and Trump.