SAN FRANCISCO - Twitter says former U.S. President Barack Obama's tweet in response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend has taken the crown as the platform's most-liked post ever.

Obama tweeted a quote from Nelson Mandela Saturday night: "No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin or his background or his religion..." Obama posted the tweet alongside a picture of himself smiling at a group of children of different races.

Twitter spokesman Nick Pacilo says Obama's tweet set the mark shortly after 10 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday night by passing Ariana Grande's tweet following a deadly bombing in May at her concert in England. Obama's post had more than 3.1 million likes early Tuesday morning.