AG Sessions dismisses Hawaii ‘as island in Pacific’, feels internet’s wrath

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is riding a wave of Twitter fury after he dismissed the state of Hawaii as merely an “island in the Pacific.”

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Sessions made the remarks on conservative talk radio program ‘The Mark Levin Show’

while denouncing a federal judge’s block on President Trump’s travel ban.

"I really am amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the president of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and constitutional power," he said.

The federal judge to which Sessions was referring is Judge Derrick K. Watson, whose 2013 appointment by former President Barack Obama was supported by Sessions, then an Alabama senator.

Last month Watson extended the order blocking President Donald Trump's travel ban. The Justice Department is appealing the decision.

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Session’s “island in the Pacific” comment has been met with outrage, led by Hawaii’s attorney general and senators representing the 50th US state. Hawaiian AG Doug Chin issued a statement, expressing his disappointment that Sessions does not recognise the equal role the federal courts play alongside the President and Congress.

“President Trump previously called a federal judge in California a so-called judge. Now U.S. Attorney General Sessions appears to dismiss a federal judge in Hawaii as just a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific,” Chin said.

An extract of the Admissions Act of 1959, confirming Hawaii as a US state, was posted by Hawaii’s Attorney General Twitter account.

Hawaiian politicians, supported by Democrats from across the country, described Sessions’ statement as “dangerous” and called on him to show some respect.

The Department of Justice issued a statement responding to the backlash, confirming that Hawaii is “in fact an island in the Pacific,” and that people were missing Sessions’ point about the blocked presidential order.

However, the Twitteratti were unimpressed, firing sharp comments at Sessions.