As Trump glances at solar eclipse without glasses, aide yells, 'Don’t look!' 
 
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 As President Trump and first lady Melania Trump got in on Monday's eclipse mania, the president took a peek at the sun without the proper eyewear. 
 
 According to pool reports, the president and first lady, who returned Sunday from Bedminster, N.J.,watched the eclipse from a balcony at the White House. 
 
 Accompanied by son Barron Trump, the pair arrived on the balcony at 2:38 p.m, per pool reports. When asked how the view was, the president gave a thumb's up. 
 
 The president appeared to glance up at one point sans eclipse glasses, leading to an aide shouting, "Don't look," per pool reports. Looking at the eclipse without the proper eyewear can lead to eye damage. 
 
 As he did this, someone in a crowd of aides below shouted "Don't look." pic.twitter.com/dtfSLEzcAZ — Ted Mann (@TMannWSJ) August 21, 2017 
 
 At 2:41 p.m., a minute before peak eclipse at the White House at about 81%, the president put on a pair of glasses and stood next to the first lady. 
 
 Still, he wasn't able to escape the Twitter jokes made after his glance at the sky. 
 
 NASA: "It is extremely dangerous and a terrible decision to look at the sun during the eclipse" 
 
 
 
 Donald Trump: pic.twitter.com/F9dOJAVNCb — Chandler (@PeIicans) August 21, 2017 
 
 They left the balcony after a few minutes later. Afterward, the first lady expressed excitement over the event. 
 
 Others who enjoyed the view from the White House: first daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, adviser Omarosa Manigault and interim communications director Hope Hicks. 
 
 As the eclipse began in Washington, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" played over the White House's PA system. 
 
 Contributing: David Jackson 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2wr1Nqv ||||| President Trump looks at the sun without protective gear during the solar eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017. 
 
 Like millions of other Americans, President Donald Trump and his family got a peek at today's historic solar eclipse. This afternoon, the president, the first lady and their son Barron stood on a White House balcony, put on their eclipse glasses and stared up at the sky. However, at one point, Trump was seen looking upward, without protection. 
 
 According to Wall Street Journal reporter Ted Mann, one of the president's aides yelled "Don't look!" in an attempt to protect Trump's vision. 
 
 Staring directly at the sun, without the powerful ultraviolet protection afforded by eclipse glasses, can cause solar retinopathy, a condition that can lead to vision problems or even blindness. On normal days, people get eye pain when they look directly at the sun, so they don't stare very long. However, during an eclipse, you won't necessarily experience pain, but you can still get serious eye damage. (You can safely look at the sun with the naked eye during the brief period of total eclipse. But Washington, D.C., was outside the path of totality for today's eclipse; observers there saw only a partial eclipse.) 
 
 President Trump, Melania and Barron observe the solar eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, with glasses. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty 
 
 There's no word from the White House about whether Trump suffered eye damage, but he appeared to look up for only a brief moment. If you plan to look at the sun during an eclipse or at any other time, make sure you put on a pair of protective glasses or use a pinhole projector. 
 
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– One person who apparently did not heed the warnings about how to view Monday's solar eclipse: the president. As multiple outlets including USA Today report, President Trump appeared to look at the sun without any protective eye wear for at least a moment during the eclipse. Space.com's headline: "President Trump Shows How Not to Watch an Eclipse." The ill-advised stare was apparently brief; most pictures show Trump, along with wife Melania, son Barron, and others, watching the eclipse from the White House balcony with the proper protective eye wear. According to Wall Street Journal reporter Ted Mann, as Trump glanced toward the sky sans glasses, an aide yelled, "Don't look."