Donald Trump set off a firestorm of criticism on Twitter Saturday after he cited the death of NBA star Dwyane Wade's cousin in a tweet claiming African-Americans will vote for him.
Trump was responding to Wade's announcement about the young woman's shooting, leading to a social media backlash as celebrities joined other Twitter users to lambaste the GOP nominee for what they saw as a political spin on a tragedy.
Many also did not like that in the first tweet, Wade's name was misspelled: "Dwayne Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!," he tweeted Saturday morning.
Three hours later, after Twitter started to explode, Trump's first tweet was taken down and replaced with one that was verbatim, except Wade's name was spelled correctly.
But changing the spelling didn't change the political tone of the tweet, and Twitter users were outraged at his tweet, coming just hours after Wade's first cousin, Nykea Aldridge was shot while pushing a stroller in the city's Parkway Gardens neighborhood, reports ABC News.
She was not the target of the gunfire, but shots hit her in the arm and head, and she was pronounced dead at a Chicago hospital. Two people have been questioned, but there have been no arrests. Her baby was not injured.
Wade, who was born in Chicago and signed with the Bulls in July, called the incident senseless and tweeted that "Chicago is hurting" and "These young kids are screaming for help."
In recent days, Trump has been reaching out to black voters, criticizing inner cities as being dangerous and "what do you have to lose" when it comes to voting for him, so his tweets fit in well with that message.
This wasn't the first time Trump tweeted after a tragedy to reaffirm his election stances, reports CNN. Back in June, after the Orlando terrorist attack, Trump tweeted:
But people such as movie star Don Cheadle weren't having any part of Trump's initial tweet, the one that was spelled correctly, and a final one four hours later expressing condolences for the death. After Trump posted his second tweet with Wade's name spelled correctly, Cheadle shot back: "You are truly a POS," he tweeted, following that up with another message: "Sorry. I misspelled 'die in a grease fire.'"
Other social media users complained that Trump didn't send condolences, even though he did, four hours after the initial tweet, send a condolence message:
Singer Michelle Williams joined Cheadle, calling Trump "an absolute disgrace," and Fox News' Julie Roginsky messaged:
Huffington Post editor Sam Stein also took offense:
And even the condolences were not enough for some Twitter users:
Wade's family has not yet responded to Trump's tweets.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.