Hawaii pride came through loud and clear at a Washington gala to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. He threw a shaka and was twice interrupted with shouts of “aloha!”

DC808 reports:

In his first major appearance at a major Asian American-hosted event Tuesday night, President Barack Obama threw a shaka to the crowd at the Ritz Carlton in Washington. That detail comes from Politico’s account of the event.  

According to a White House transcript, audience members even interrupted the president — not once, but twice — when he mentioned Hawaii to shout “aloha!” Obama also gave a shout-out to Sen. Daniel Inouye, and the path that immigrants like his ancestors took. Here’s an excerpt from the transcript: 

“Now, many of them faced hardship; many of them faced ridicule; many of them faced racism. Many were treated as second-class citizens — as people who didn’t belong. But they didn’t give up.  They didn’t make excuses.  They kept forging ahead.  They kept building up America. They kept fighting for America — Like Danny Inouye, who’s here.”

A White House spokesperson told DC808 earlier on Tuesday that Obama had been looking forward to the event. 

“He is proud of his Administration’s accomplishments for the [Asian American Pacific Islander] community, and looks forward to continuing that progress,” she said.