After a Navy destroyer crashed into a container ship off the coast of Japan over the weekend, seven members of the United States Navy were found dead. When President Donald Trump finally acknowledged the incident with a tweet, social media users were not impressed with how long it took him to speak out.

Trump on Twitter

On Saturday, the USS Fitzgerald was traveling just off the coast of Japan when they collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship. According to the Associated Press, the majority of the 300-person crew was likely asleep when the collusion occurred, which was around 2:20 a.m.

After roughly 48 hours of searching, officials found the bodies of the seven missing sailors. The sailors were located after being found in flooded berthing compartments. "We have found a number of the remains...of our missing shipmates," Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin confirmed on Monday, before adding, "our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those shipmates." The sailors have since been identified as Dakota Kyle Rigsby, Shingo Alexander Douglass, Ngoc T Truong Huynh, Noe Hernandez, Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, Gary Leo Rehm Jr., and Alec Martin. Donald Trump decided to speak about the incident days after the crash first took place, doing so in a June 19 tweet.

Taking to Twitter on Monday night to address the Navy ship collision was Donald Trump.

"My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the 7 @USNavy sailors of the #USSFitzgerald and their families," Trump tweeted.

Twitter reacts

Within minutes after Donald Trump sent out his tweet about the fallen sailors, social media critics didn't hold back their thoughts.

"Doesn't count when you had to be reminded a million times," Bryson Masse tweeted, while adding, "America literally had to nag you to do this."

"Trump's half-hearted reply is too little, too late.

While the 7 sailors were dying, he was tweeting about his pathetic approval numbers," William LeGate wrote, which was answered by another Twitter user who replied, "He makes me feel physical hatred. Just pure straight loathing." "How nice of you to get around to this after stroking your own ego with fake poll stats," another tweet read.

"A little late are you Donny?

I believe Obama beat you to this as well. And Michelle even wished him a happy fathers day too. Melania didn't," an additional tweet stated. As the backlash continued, it was made clear that the political division in the United States was not going to end anytime soon.
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