There will be a number of Democratic candidates stepping out to fight President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential race, and they will be leading with their values, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said Monday.
"We say, for instance, this weekend, this was an act of domestic terrorism," Perez told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "This was a hate crime, and the people who committed it should be held to justice; we'll throw the book at them. That's what we should be saying."
Perez, responding to an advertisement released over the weekend touting Trump's re-election bid for 2020, said Democrats should stress they are "uniters," while Trump is a "divider."
"There's a heck of a lot more work to do," he said. "What Democrats are fighting for in the months and years ahead is economic opportunity for everyone and inclusion and opportunity."
Meanwhile, Perez said Democrats cannot just run a campaign based on "the bad things Donald Trump has done."
"We talk about the things Democrats have done and will continue to do," he said. "We have always been fighting for economic opportunity. The Affordable Care Act debate, we believe that healthcare is a right for all, not a privilege for a few, and we'll continue to fight for universal healthcare."
Trump will have a record to run on, he continued, but Democrats "can compare empty rhetoric with the reality," Perez said. "We can also talk about what we stand for and what we will do as Democrats, building a better deal and brighter future, better tomorrows for everyone."
However, he would not comment on what role 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will take in the campaign.
"I think that will be up to Secretary Clinton," he said. "She's done a lot for the party and for nation. Only she will decide what her role is to be. I appreciate everything she's done both for the party and the nation."