Freelance Columnist
https://twitter.com/stphnmaher
Stephen Maher
Freelance Columnist
Stephen Maher is an award-winning investigative journalist, a Harvard Nieman fellow, and the author of three novels. He has a BA in international development studies from the University of Kings College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has lived in Jamaica, Japan, France, and the United States, and has traveled widely around the world, sometimes on his own sailboat. He speaks French and is working on Spanish.
Apr 11, 2024
The moon blotted out the sun across much of North America on Monday, but it did not put politics entirely out of mind.
Conservatives on both sides of the border used the occasion to compare their champion to the moon, blotting out the incumbent sun, while incumbents merely marveled at the moment.
In the United States, Donald Trump released an odd ad on his Truth Social network in which his face blotted out the sun. In Canada, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre just posted a photo of the moment, but one of his MPs posted an image showing a smiling Poilievre eclipsing Trudeau.
Meanwhile, Fox News issued a warning that the eclipse might make it easier for migrants to cross into the United States.
Justin Trudeau posted a video of himself taking in the sight from the roof of his office while Joe Biden posted a safety warning, a subtle reminder, perhaps, of the time, in 2017, when Trump gazed directly into an eclipse, which is said to be unwise.
