California congressman calls Jeff Sessions 'a racist' and 'a liar'

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) has no qualms about going after President Trump and his administration, and on Sunday, he called Attorney General Jeff Sessions "a racist" and "a liar," following his controversial remarks about Hawaii.

Last week, while discussing Trump's second travel ban that would have kept people from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, Sessions said he was "amazed" that a federal judge "sitting on an island in the Pacific" had the power to block such an executive order. Lawmakers from the island in the Pacific, a.k.a. the great state of Hawaii, immediately criticized his comments, including Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, who said Sessions, a former senator from Alabama, "voted for that judge. And that island is called Oahu. It's my home. Have some respect."

During an appearance Sunday on This Week, Sessions said he couldn't understand why no one saw the hilarity in his statement, suggesting that "nobody has a sense of humor anymore." Lieu — whose Twitter cover image shows side-by-side photos of the crowds at former President Barack Obama's first inauguration and Trump's, and whose bio states he doesn't "take orders from Vladimir Putin" — tweeted in response, "Dear 'Attorney General' Sessions: You are a racist and a liar. Actually, just joking. Oh wait, your record shows you are a racist and a liar." Ha. Ha. Ha?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up