Tom Perez: Hillary Is About ‘We,’ Trump Is About ‘Me’

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said “Hillary Clinton is about we, Donald Trump is about me.”

Partial transcript as follows:

STEPHANOPOULOS: And we’re joined by the Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. He’s here today representing the Clinton campaign, not in his official capacity. Secretary Perez, thank you for joining us this morning.You just heard Senator McConnell right there. He said, you know, basically Democrats ought to be wary of the fact that you’ve got this wave of populist anger that could hit here as well.

THOMAS PEREZ, SECRETARY OF LABOR: Well, George, let me answer you first question you asked Leader McConnell, is Donald Trump qualified to be president? The answer is no. He’s a chaos candidate. The differences between Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump in terms of temperament, in terms of judgment, in terms of values, couldn’t be more stark. And they’re on display once against over the last two weeks, whether it’s the Brexit aftermath, where he talks about how great his sprinkler systems are, or whether it’s the aftermath of Orlando where he’s once again dividing  America, or in the aftermath of the Supreme Court cases where — you know, Hillary Clinton is about we, Donald Trump is about me. And, Hillary Clinton understands that there’s angst here in the country. We made a lot of progress under this president. But we have got a lot of work to do. And her vision of America is a  vision of we. We’re stronger together. Donald Trump is all about me. And that’s the fundamental different between the candidates.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, you talk about that angst in the country. And, you know, the poll isn’t all good news for Secretary Clinton even though it shows she has a pretty large lead right there. It shows that more than half of the voters are anxious about the idea that she can be president. And there’s a number else I want to put up, because it shows that after either years people are looking for a different direction from President Obama. It shows 56 percent of the public who wants a president who will take the country in a new direction. How is Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of state to President Obama, going to take the country in a new direction?

PEREZ: Well, I think it’s important — and again I’m here in my personal capacity, as you correctly point out, I think it’s important — and this campaign will do this — to point out where we were, where we are, and where we need to go. When this president took office, we were in the worst ditch of our lifetime, George. And under the president’s leadership we have climbed out of that, 75 months in a row of private sector job growth to the tune of over 14 million jobs. We have a lot of unfinished business. There are still too many people who aren’t feeling the wind that is at our back. And so the key moving forward here is to build on that progress and build an America that indeed can work for everyone, and not simply a few at the top. And that’s what Hillary Clinton is  about, a message of inclusion and opportunity for everyone. Breaking down barriers building bridges, not walls.  An infrastructure plan is not building a wall along the Mexican border. She has a true infrastructure plan to put people to work in good, middle class jobs and to build an America where everybody has an opportunity to realize the American dream, an America where we respect our religious diversity. We don’t call names to judges and things of that nature. That’s not who we are.

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN