Obama's Charlottesville tweet one of the most liked in history

Obama's tweet is already the third most liked of all time. Photo / Getty

A tweet by Barack Obama has gone viral after the former US president sent a message of tolerance, condemning the white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion," Obama said in the message.

The quote is by the late South African leader Nelson Mandela. It is accompanied by a photo of Obama greeting children of different ethnicities.

"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

The tweet has been liked more than 2 million times and retweeted nearly a million.

He followed the tweet with another one, finishing Mandela's quote: "...For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

"...For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." - Nelson Mandela

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 13, 2017

The former president is being praised for his public response to the Charlottesville rally, while current president Donald Trump appeared reluctant to address the issue.

Trump first said there were "many sides" acting wrongly and did not call out the white surpremacists. After an uproar, he condemned the rally while seemingly reading from a teleprompter.

Obama's tweet is currently the third most liked tweet of all time. Ariana Grande's tweet from earlier this year after the deadly attack at her Manchester concert is the most liked.

Prior to Grande's tweet, the most popular tweet of all time had been Ellen DeGeneres' Oscars selfie, which is now at the number two spot.