Obama's Charlottesville Tweet Citing Nelson Mandela Is Officially The Most Popular Ever

A nation needing warmth and a steady voice to calm our breaking hearts over Charlottesville got a digital hug Saturday night from our beloved President Obama. In what became the most popular tweet in Twitter history, Obama countered images of Nazi symbols and white supremacists marching in Charlottesville with the words of Nelson Mandela.

As we wept over the domestic terror car attack that killed progressive Charlottesville counter-protester Heather Heyer, part of a group that was leaving the area, Obama shared an impromptu snap from New Orleans, where he stopped for a quick chat with kids.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion,” Obama tweeted on Saturday evening, putting the Nelson Mandela quote before the world. 

“People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love,” he continued, “For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

According to Favstar, a Twitter tracking site, Obama’s Mandela quote is now the most-liked tweet in Twitter history. As of Wednesday morning, it has garnered more than 3.3 million likes and 1.3 million retweets. In contrast,  from the same day, in which he called the events at Charlottesville “sad!” has only managed about 11,000 retweets, writes Vogue.

In the aftermath of the church massacre in Charleston, Obama helped our sobbing hearts with this incredible, uplifting rendition of 'Amazing Grace'.