Newly elected Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez said Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he does not regret his recent inflammatory comments saying Republicans "don't give a shit about people."
Perez delivered a fiery speech Friday in Newark, New Jersey, where he was trying to garner Democratic support at the We Build the Resistance Rally, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Alleging that Trump did not like the title "Trumpcare" for the [Republican] Obamacare replacement bill, Perez said he had his own idea for what to call the legislation.
"You know what embodies the program: 'I Don't Care,' because they don't give a shit about people," Perez said after dismissing "Trumpcare" and "Ryancare" as potential titles for the bill, which was never brought up for a vote.
Co-host Willie Geist asked Perez whether he regretted his choice of words, citing the Democratic Party's central argument against then-candidate Donald Trump during the presidential campaign that his rhetoric was "divisive."
"You know, I don't," responded Perez, who then listed off some of President Trump's policy changes, saying that's what he regrets.
"What I have regrets about are all the people who are scared to death as a result of the first 60 days of chaos and carnage in this administration," Perez said. "The children who got dropped off at school and literally saw their father half a block away getting arrested by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]."
"I got a lot of passion, and one of the reasons I ran for the job is because I want to make sure that everyone who works hard and plays by the rules can afford to live the American dream," Perez added. "And right now, this divisive administration is doing things that are unnecessary."
Washington Post reporter David Weigel on Monday tweeted out his article on Perez not apologizing for his comments over the weekend, which prompted Perez to tweet "sorry not sorry" at him.
Sorry not sorry. https://t.co/PPyuzAwbpq
— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) April 3, 2017