Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, a Hillary Clinton supporter, dodged a question from Fox News' Shannon Bream on Sunday as to whether Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) has dragged Clinton further to the left.
"Yesterday, the formal announcement that Mrs. Clinton will pursue a public option for healthcare, some call it the government-run option, it's a concept that she has been associated with, of course, in the past. Senator Bernie Sanders issued a statement congratulating her on that well. Conservatives not as equally congratulatory on that," Bream said. "The group America Rising Squared reacted this way, ‘desperate to win over the Warren-Sanders crew that deeply distrusts her, Secretary Clinton is willing to adopt even the most extreme left-wing views as her own. There is quite literally nothing she won't do or say to fit into today's modern Democratic Socialist Party.’"
She asked Perez if this was indicative of general election trouble.
"So, has the primary pulled her so far left that she's going to have trouble in the general election on issues like this?" Bream asked.
Perez dodged this question and answered about health care and mentioned her tenure as First Lady.
He did not speak as to how far left the Democratic primary and Sanders have pulled her.
"I think Hillary Clinton is going to do great in the general election for the simple reason that she's been fighting for health care her entire adult life," Perez said. "As First Lady, you know, she took on the healthcare industry to try to expand access to health care, when that didn't succeed, she passed, she helped get the children's health insurance program passed."
Perez continued.
"So, she wants to make sure that health care is a right, not a privilege in this country and I think the work that's been done under this president has brought us a tremendously far way but there's still unfinished business and what she's trying to do is continue that progress."