Rebecca Savransky08/15/17 10:59 AM EDT
Former President Obama’s tweet in the wake of the violent clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. is one of the most popular tweets of all time.
On Saturday, Obama tweeted a quote from late South African President Nelson Mandela.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…” Obama tweeted Saturday.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…”
In subsequent tweets, Obama continued the quote, 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.”
By Tuesday, the first tweet from Obama had nearly 2.5 million likes and about 1 million retweets.
According to Twitter-tracking site Favstar, the former president’s tweet was the second-most-liked tweet of all time.
President Trump faced backlash over the weekend for his response to the violence in Charlottesville. Trump blamed “many sides” for what happened in Virginia and did not single out the white supremacist hate groups that marched.
On Monday, after days of criticism, the president said “racism is evil” and called out for the first time the KKK, neo-Nazis and other hate groups for their role in the weekend’s violence.
“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.
One person was killed and many others injured this past weekend when a man drove his car into a crowd of people protesting against the “Unite the Right” rally.
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