Tim Kaine hit the campaign trail for the first time Saturday as the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee, trashing Republican Donald Trump and vowing that he and Hillary Clinton will pursue a “strong, progressive agenda” in the White House. “Somos Americanos todos”, he also said, which translates to, “We are all Americans”, a dig on Trump’s exclusionary, anti-immigrant policies.
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In Spanish again, he described he and Mrs Clinton as “soul mates” in the “fight” to defeat Trump in November. They held their joint appearance at a Manhattan hotel, and Trump did most of the talking.
“He is qualified to step into this job and lead from Day One. That’s just my kind of guy”.
Reid said it felt like a continuation of Clinton running effectively as a third term of Barack Obama, who Kaine supported for president.
The Democrats’ four-day convention starts on Monday in Philadelphia with speeches by First Lady Michelle Obama and Mr Sanders.
“She then listed Kaine’s political history, from Richmond City Councilmember all the way up to the governor of Virginia and US Senator, while championing what she saw as his desire to “do good” for others.”[Kaine is] the leader that cares more about making a difference than making headlines”, she said.
Dwight Bullard, a Florida state senator, said not one of the 70-plus Sanders delegates in his state including himself is happy with Kaine’s selection.
Kaine could also give Clinton a bump in his home state of Virginia, a Democratic-leaning swing state, though running mates don’t usually give presidential candidates much of an edge.
Clinton is calling Kaine a progressive who likes to get things done and says he’s “everything that Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not” – referring to the Republican nominees. Shortly after Clinton announced her running mate on Twitter on Friday, Republican Sen.
For Kaine, the appearance was a national introduction, a reality he acknowledged in saying many in the audience hadn’t heard him speak or had heard of him at all.
On Saturday, before Kaine and Clinton arrived, their supporters filled FIU Arena, chanting “Hill-a-ry, Hill-a-ry!” and “Yes, we can!” “H-R-C!” yelled the crowd, using the initials for Clinton’s full name.
Clinton is calculating that Kaine, a Virginia senator and former governor who comes from a working-class background, will help her beat Republican Donald Trump by drawing in independent and moderate voters.
Kaine also sprinkled his speech with personal details, such as his time as a missionary in Honduras, and he spoke Spanish within minutes of starting.
“It’s a tremendous start for this ticket and could not be a better gateway into Philadelphia”, said Steve Grossman, who’s helped lead Clinton’s campaign in MA and is a former Democratic National Committee chairman. Obama broke a similar promise, which has haunted him on Spanish-language news media throughout his tenure. Kaine said that Trump’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation comments are an invitation to Putin to roll on in. “Thanks for choosing us!”
While Bernie Sanders supporters are generally disappointed that Clinton didn’t pick a more liberal running mate, others are hopeful about Kaine’s fluency in Spanish as well as his work to prevent gun violence in Virginia and the fight he waged against housing discrimination and homelessness as a young lawyer.
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An effort to fully eliminate superdelegates in future elections has failed at a meeting of the Democratic National Convention rules committee.
