Former President Barack Obama is facing online scrutiny after mentioning George Floyd amid grief concerning the Texas elementary school shooting.
Obama’s tweet that called for the remembrance of Floyd’s death came Wednesday afternoon, one day after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in a classroom of an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
“As we grieve the children of Uvalde today, we should take time to recognize that two years have passed since the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer,” Obama wrote on Twitter. “His killing stays with us all to this day, especially those who loved him.”
As we grieve the children of Uvalde today, we should take time to recognize that two years have passed since the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer. His killing stays with us all to this day, especially those who loved him.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2022
Obama continued with calls for criminal justice reform and promoted a “reimagining policing pledge” in additional tweets.
The former Democratic president has since faced backlash on Twitter.
Florida Republican Vice Chairman Christian Ziegler blasted Obama for being insensitive.
“Quickest, weirdest and most insensitive Tweet Pivot I have seen,” Ziegler tweeted. “Obama turned the page on the children of Uvalde and moved the attention to George Floyd in less then 280 characters. I mean… couldn’t he have separated the two into 2 Tweets and waited 2 mins between both posts?”
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Another Twitter user called for the remembrance of the school shooting’s victims.
No....This is who we need to remember on this day. pic.twitter.com/4PGDxOo4vh
— Mel (@Mel00046827) May 26, 2022
“I’ve seen some awful tweets in my time, but this has to be one of the very worst,” one person tweeted.
“Let’s stand George Floyd on the dead bodies of slaughtered children. This is one of the worst tweets in history,” Blaze podcast host Jason Whitlock wrote.
Let's stand George Floyd on the dead bodies of slaughtered children. This is one of the worst tweets in history. https://t.co/RYQBzvJpnN
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) May 25, 2022
Washington Examiner contributor Harry Khachatrian added that “innocent children gunned down in an elementary school is absolutely not comparable to a criminal being wrongly killed by police mid-arrest.”
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Some Twitter users pointed out that Obama tweeted his condolences Tuesday afternoon.
Should’ve started with that and stopped there
— NetScape (@municipaltapout) May 26, 2022
“Should’ve started with that and stopped there,” one person wrote in response.