Obama’s tweet post-Charlottesville among most ‘liked’ ever

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Former president Barack Obama tweeted a quote from Nelson Mandela in the wake of the weekend of violence out of Charlottesville, Virginia, and that tweet is now one of the most liked tweets ever. 

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…” Obama tweeted Saturday, quoting from the former South African president.

He continued the quote in subsequent tweets, which read: “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.”

“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

By Tuesday, the tweet had 2.5 million likes and about 1 million retweets, which makes it the second-most-liked tweet of all time, according to Twitter-tracking site Favstar.

This in direct contrast to the reaction people had to President Donald Trump‘s tepid response to the violence. He was widely criticized for blaming the situation on “many sides” rather than specifically condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists. However, he did eventually put out a more specific condemnation on Monday.

“Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to what we hold dear as Americans,” Trump said Monday.