Donald Trump Mocked for Solar Eclipse Behavior

Former President Donald Trump was mocked for his behavior during the last solar eclipse ahead of the upcoming spectacle on Monday.

"Remember when Donald Trump stared at the solar eclipse during his presidency? You know, the thing that can blind you? Yea. This is how dumb things were with Trump in office. Let's not make the same mistake twice. Biden 2024," Democratic social media influencer Harry Sisson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

On Monday, April 8, 2024, Americans are expected to experience a total solar eclipse in many states, where the moon will be positioned so that the entire disc of the sun will be blocked, plunging millions of people into darkness during the early afternoon.

The path of totality will start in Mexico and extend across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before heading over the North Atlantic.

NASA has issued several warnings ahead of the solar eclipse for how Americans can safely view the spectacle.

"Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun's bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing," NASA states. "Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury."

However, in August 2017, Americans experienced another solar eclipse and Trump was seen in photographs attempting to look at the sky without wearing protective eyewear. MSNBC news reported that Trump eventually put on protective eyewear and continued to look at the solar eclipse later on during the event.

Nevertheless, many social media users brought up Trump's past behavior on Monday.

"The only reason I remember that the last solar eclipse was in 2017 was because of Trump looking directly at it after being told specifically not to lmaaaoooo," X user @BentleyAudrey wrote.

The Republicans Against Trump X account shared a gif of Trump in 2017 and wrote, "Do not do what this moron did. #SolarEclipse."

X user Jorge Heathen wrote, "Remember when Trump said "f*** that eclipse" and looked directly at it."

X user @DarrigoMelanie wrote, "Solar eclipse safety hack, and all around life hack: Don't be like Donald Trump."

CNN host Jim Acosta also spoke about Trump's behavior during the 2017 solar eclipse earlier this month saying "you should not do this, apparently, you should not look up at the eclipse...don't do that. That will damage your eyes."

In a post to TruthSocial on Monday, Trump used the solar eclipse in a video campaign ad which showed an image of the eclipse and wrote "the most important moment in human history is taking place in 2024." As the video continued, Trump's head could be seen in front of an image of the sun and a message on the video says "We will save America. And make it great again."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.