Within an hour, the President deleted the incorrect tweet and sent a new one: "138 people have been killed in Sri Lanka, with more that 600 badly injured, in a terrorist attack on churches and hotels. The United States offers heartfelt condolences to the great people of Sri Lanka. We stand ready to help!" he wrote.
Trump's response to the explosions in Sri Lanka was the first thing he tweeted about. The President has faced criticism for his response to tragedies, sometimes for the content of his statements, but more often it is his omissions and delayed responses that invite criticism.
After the attack on Christchurch mosques on March 15, in which 50 people were allegedly killed by a white supremacist during Friday services, Trump was criticised for initially spending much of his time on Twitter that weekend attacking rivals, retweeting conspiracy theorists and condemning the media rather than addressing the attack perpetrated against Muslims.
Several days later, he tweeted that the the "Fake News Media is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand."
Critics also questioned why the Notre Dame fire in Paris garnered a total of four tweets last week and a pledge of support to France from the President, while three black churches that burned in Louisiana weeks earlier went unacknowledged on Trump's feed.
Authorities say the three churches, which burned within 10 days of one another in the same parish, were deliberately set ablaze by a white man they have charged with arson and hate crimes.
In the most notable instance, Trump drew widespread criticism for his response to the Charlottesville, Virginia, protests in 2017 in which white supremacists clashed with counterprotesters in a melee that left one woman dead.
The President initially blamed "many sides" and "both sides" for the violence, contradicting official White House statements that specifically condemned white supremacy, Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. Politicians from both parties criticised the President for his remarks.
