If anyone is ready and qualified to become the next president of the United States, Rosie Perez believes it’s Hillary Clinton.
The Puerto Rican actress explained why she’s standing with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee this election year in a video interview with NBC.
“I’m with her because of her positions,” Perez shared. “Her positions on immigration reform. Her positions on education, in college tuition reform. I am with her for equal pay for women, for a higher minimum wage, and the list can go on and on and on.”
The actress and activist listed Clinton’s ability to empathize with working class citizens and her experiences ― both professional and personal ― as reasons why she’s throwing her support behind the candidate. “I am with her because she has the record. She was secretary of state. She was a senator. She was First Lady. She is a woman. She is a mother. And she is a grandmother. And she has the empathy to understand what people who do not have what they should have in this country are going through,” Perez shared.
For all of those reasons and more, Perez said, she believes Clinton is more than ready to become the next ― and first female ― president of the United States.
“I believe that she has put in her time, and she is ready,” she concluded. “On day one, she will be ready for office.”
Perez’s sentiments echo those of America Ferrera, who in April wrote a blog post for The Huffington Post explaining why Clinton “thrilled the hell” out of her.
“I am a first-generation American, millennial, female voter and I’m not only voting for Hillary Clinton, but I also really like Hillary Clinton,” wrote Ferrera. “She’s the kind of woman I’d share a bottle of wine with. Maybe this is my vagina’s fault, but maybe I really heart Hillary because I was raised by a single mother who woke up everyday and did the unglamorous and grueling work of providing for her six children. Maybe that’s part of why I’ve come to recognize and admire Hillary for showing up, day in and day out, for the promise of unsexy, slow-going and hard-won progress.”
Like Ferrera, Perez has shown her support for Clinton in public forums. The former host of “The View” was in attendance when Clinton spoke at the League of United Latin American Citizens conference Thursday.
During her speech, Clinton promised swift action on immigration reform and deportation relief. She also promised efforts to close the wage gap, expand education opportunities and boost employment, and called Latinos “a vital part of the American community.”
Perez called Clinton’s speech “very inspiring” in a tweet, and urged followers to do their part and vote.
NBC reports LULAC plans to honor Perez on Friday with an award for her lifelong activism.
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