Donald Trump looking directly at the sun is 'most impressive thing president's ever done', says Fox News host Tucker Carlson

The President-supporting host appeared to be joking, earlier suggesting that Trump risking his eyesight was 'not a complete surprise'

Donald Trump's decision to look right at the sun and potentailly boil his own eyeballs was "perhaps the most impressive thing any president has ever done", according to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Apparently joking – though not certainly – Mr Carlson praised Mr Trump's response to the eclipse. Not for the first time, the President rejected the overwhelming opinion of scientists and instead of using glasses or anything else looked right into it, an approach that has the potential to send people blind.

Mr Trump stood on the balcony overlooking the South Lawn at the White House and removed his glasses to look at the sun as it was blocked out by the moon. He carried on doing so, despite shouts from a White House aide that told him "don't look".

Mr Tucker said that such a decision was "not a complete surprise", suggesting that he was joking in his praise of Mr Trump. But the Fox News host has repeatedly defended Mr Trump, most recently doing so prominently after the row over the President's response to the protests in Charlottesville.

That had led some to joke that Mr Carlson was likely to defend the President, despite what appeared to be a wildly dangerous decision. Then, hours later, Mr Carlson told the American public that he backed the President's move to potentially boil his own eyeballs.

"Even the President saw it, but in a move that is not a complete surprise, he looked directly at the sun, without any glasses, perhaps the most impressive thing any president has ever done," he said. He went on to point out that the next eclipse is just seven years away, and that Fox would be covering it.

Mr Trump's reaction to the eclipse – after he had put his glasses back on – was to give a thumbs up to a reporter who had asked him how the view was.