Barack Obama's Charlottesville Tweet Makes History as the Most Liked Ever

Obama Charlottesville Tweet
Photo: Bloomberg/Getty

As if he never missed a beat, former president Barack Obama knew exactly what to say following the tragic events during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., last week.

The politician tweeted a photo of himself smiling at a diverse group of children standing in front of a window, with the caption, "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion." The quote is from former South African president Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.

With more than 2.5 million likes and counting (and more than a million retweets), it quickly became the second-most-liked tweet in Twitter history, according to USA Today.

The most liked tweet in Twitter's history came from Ariana Grande following the terror attack at her concert in Manchester, England. That has reached 2.7 million likes so far.

UPDATE: As of approximately 10:07 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 15, Obama's note set the record for most like tweet ever., Twitter confirms. On Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET it had more than 3 milllion likes.

The politico tweeted more from the passage following that, adding, "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." - Nelson Mandela"

VIDEO: Charlottesville Solidarity Rallies Around the U.S.

During the white supremacist rally Saturday, one woman—32-year-old Heather Heyer—was killed and 19 people were injured when a man who a part of the violent demonstration drove his car into a crowd of people. In total, more than 30 people were injured before the day was done.

Related Articles