Former President Bill Clinton invoked themes about the white working class in a speech he delivered on childhood obesity Thursday, calling for collaboration rather than fighting as a way to solve social issues.

“I think it’s never as interesting as a knock-down, blood-on-the-floor fight,” he said. “But the truth is, that in the world we live in, creative cooperation involving diverse partnerships of people who both have lived different lives and know different things are the best mechanisms for solving complex social problems.”