The conventional rollout of Kaine as vice-presidential choice comes in sharp contrast to the haphazard unveiling by Trump of Gov. Mike Pence of in last week as his running mate.
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Clinton tells a campaign crowd in Miami that behind Kaine’s smile is a “backbone of steel”. Shortly after he got the call, Kaine left the fundraiser. Goldfeld supported Bernie Sanders during the primaries but is enthusiastically supporting Clinton – and now Kaine – in the general election.
The pair will hit the campaign trail together in Florida today.
The location of Saturday’s speech also highlighted the campaign’s outreach to Hispanics.
Clinton is hoping to seize the spotlight from Republicans after their convention in Cleveland.
They made an appearance together on Saturday afternoon at Miami’s Florida International University.
The announcement came on the heels of an attack in Munich, Germany, that dominated the afternoon news cycle.
In picking Kaine, Clinton passed over liberal candidates who would have generated more grassroots enthusiasm like U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of MA and Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Hispanic Cabinet members Julian Castro and Thomas Perez. “Drawing a blank. Congrats to a good man and a good friend”, he said. He’s a true progressive.
Hillary Clinton went with a pretty vanilla choice for her running mate: Democratic Sen.
Clinton made the announcement via Twitter and a text message to supporters after the first day of a two-day campaign swing in Florida. Don’t Let Obama have a 3rd Term.
Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine are closely aligned on many issues. She leads Trump in many opinion polls. He also said Kaine is “owned by the banks”. He said in Honduras he learned the values “Fe, familia, y trabajo” – faith, family, and work. He spoke to the crowd in Spanish multiple times throughout his speech. It was during a debate in support of the bipartisan “Gang of 8” immigration reform package.
“Estamos listos para Hillary”, he declared. He said the businessman has shipped jobs overseas, stiffed contractors, opposes a federal minimum wage and equal pay laws for women, calling him a “you’re fired president”, a “trash talker” and a “me-first” president.
The 58-year-old Kaine was born in Minnesota and is a Harvard-educated lawyer.
The person familiar with the search process likened Vilsack to the “heart” candidate, given his friendship with Clinton, but said that Kaine’s experience as a victor in a pivotal swing state along with his Senate experience in foreign affairs helped put him over the top.
Kaine appeared without a tie at his coming-out party, and joked that this was the first time many in the audience had heard his name.
His bipartisan roots, the Clinton campaign believes, could resonate with voters seeking an alternative to Trump.
Two days later, Kaine and his wife, Anne, joined Clinton in NY for lunch, along with Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, daughter Chelsea and Chelsea’s husband. Kaine and Pence both are. In 1998, he was elected its mayor, and three years later, took a step up to the state level, becoming Virginia’s lieutenant governor.
His governorship was a study in practical decision-making and political maneuvering – qualities valued by the Clinton organization. Choking up, he said that day was the “worst day of my life”. “I like to fight for right”, he said.
Early during his time as governor, Kaine took one his biggest political risks: offering a hearty endorsement to then-Sen. While Kaine was taking on housing discrimination, Trump was denying apartments to African Americans, Clinton added. He was on the short list to be Barack Obama’s running mate in 2008. But Salazar, a longtime party strategist, called Kaine “a pretty solid choice”.
She further outlined the differences between the potential vice president, juxtaposing him to their Republican rivals. He is a defender of the Affordable Care Act and announced his support for same sex marriage in 2013.
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“He has also been strong against the NRA (National Rifle Association), and most Americans now want more gun safety, given the spate of terrorist mass shootings as well as daily gun killings”.
