Trump tweets about Diwali, draws criticism for not mentioning Hindus in initial posts
President Trump on Tuesday celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, but took criticism on social media for failing to mention Hinduism in the first two of a series of tweets recapping a White House ceremony commemorating the festival.
Trump hosted a group of administration and diplomatic officials who observe the holiday at a White House event in the Roosevelt Room. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, deputy press secretary Raj Shah and Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Navtej Sarna were among those in attendance.
“I’m thrilled to be here for the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights,” Trump said, reading from prepared remarks.
{mosads}”We’re gathered today to celebrate a very special holiday observed by Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains throughout the United States and around the world,” he added.
The latter remark was copied and pasted into a tweet, which observers quickly noted did not mention Hinduism. Diwali, a five-day festival of lights, is among the most popular Hindu festivals and is observed by more than 1 billion people worldwide.
Trump deleted the original Diwali tribute tweet because it left out Hindus only to post a corrected tweet and still leave out Hindus.
Diwali is literally the most popular festival in Hinduism. https://t.co/NOGZEgtIeD
— siraj hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) November 13, 2018
Um, hundreds of millions of Hindus too https://t.co/tuYRLD6FzX
— Ram Ramgopal (@RamCNN) November 13, 2018
*Hindus. https://t.co/LHNsxhR9Sf
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) November 13, 2018
The president then deleted the initial tweet, later sharing the same message that omitted Hindus.
A third tweet, posted about 20 minutes later, did mention Hindus.
It was my great honor to host a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, in the Roosevelt Room at the @WhiteHouse this afternoon. Very, very special people! https://t.co/kQk7IvpSFo pic.twitter.com/tYlBABg4JF
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
Third time is a charm: https://t.co/RT9mza8dW8
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 13, 2018
Trump made news at the ceremony when he announced his intention to nominate Neomi Rao to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for the seat vacated by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Rao currently serves as the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
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