Former President Barack Obama tweeted a quote by Nelson Mandela in response to the Charlottesville violence. (Photo by Carolyn Caster/AP)
A tweet posted by former President Barack Obama in the aftermath of a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend is now the most-liked tweet to date.
On Saturday, Aug. 12, Obama tweeted a quote by late South African president and activist Nelson Mandela in response to the violent protests that left one woman dead and well over a dozen others badly injured.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion …” the tweet read.
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…" pic.twitter.com/InZ58zkoAm
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 13, 2017
Obama continued the moving quote in subsequent tweets, writing, “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love … for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
By Wednesday, Aug. 16, the former president’s initial tweet had over 3.2 million likes and over 1 million retweets. Twitter-tracking website Favstar showed that the tweet is now the most-liked tweet in history.
President Donald Trump faced backlash earlier this week after failing to condemn the violence committed by white nationalists, Neo-Nazis and KKK members at a “Unite the Right Rally” late last week. The president blamed “many sides” for the unrest that unfolded.
Despite explicitly denouncing racism and white supremacy on Monday, Trump doubled down on his initial statement that both sides (protesters and counter-protesters) were at fault for the weekend violence.
“I think there is blame on both sides,” the president said during press conference in Trump Tower on Tuesday, Aug. 15. “What about the alt-left that came charging, as you say, the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt?”
