Former Texas Governor Rick Perry appeared on Fox News Tuesday to discuss the recent controversy over remarks made by Donald Trump about illegal immigration. Host Sean Hannity pressed Perry to explain how what he has to say on immigration is different from what Trump said, and what precisely it was that Perry found to be a problem.

HANNITY: I was a little surprised that you were critical of Mr. Trump. Where is your criticism?

PERRY: Well I think you have to be critical of the disrespectful language that he used. If we want to talk about how to bring this country together and the solutions that we have in this country I'll be more than happy have that conversation. But to paint with a broad brush that Mr. Trump did and basically say that all Mexicans were rapists and killers, that's just, that is the type of inflammatory language that doesn't do anything at all.

Hannity pushes back on Perry's statement a few moments later saying that he wants to be fair to Mr. Trump and that wasn't referring to all Mexicans. Perry suggests that hyperbolic rhetoric simply distracts from what the real issues related to illegal immigration ought to be, and that Donald Trump "knew exactly what he was doing with those statements."

Farther into the interview, Hannity circles back to Trump a third time, saying that he's "not sure" the Governor disagrees with Trump. They played the clip of Trump's remarks, and Hannity asks "what part of that specifically, Governor, do you disagree with?"

"Well when he paints with such a broad brush. I think that's, you know, the challenge, that, to make this rhetoric be disrespectful. And we know what the real challenge is. I mean, I hope who Donald Trump is really mad at is Washington, D.C. for their failure to secure that border, because we agree that Washington has failed."

The full interview includes some very troubling statistics and video from Gov. Perry's previous appearances on Hannity to discuss the problems Texas faces with the Mexican border. While Hannity has a point that both Trump and Perry have identified the same root problem, Perry gives a vivid demonstration of how to talk seriously about serious issues without sounding like a xenophobe fringe candidate. A skill the Donald has evidently not yet mastered.