Sen. Tim Kaine smiled throughout his introduction as Hillary Clinton’s choice for vice president Saturday in Miami. Despite his lighthearted demeanor, the happy warrior from Virginia delivered an emotional case for his fellow Democrat and a stinging rebuke of Donald Trump in his debut outing.
“From Atlantic City to his so-called university, he leaves a trail of broken promises and wrecked lives wherever he goes,” Kaine said about Trump. “We can’t afford to let him do the same thing to our country. And folks, we don’t have to, because Hillary Clinton is the direct opposite of Donald Trump.”
Clinton had similar praise for the politician from the Old Dominion.
“Sen. Tim Kaine is everything Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not,” Clinton said as the crowd cheered.
Clinton described her vice presidential choice as “qualified to step into his job and lead on day one.” Kaine is serving his first term as a U.S. senator from Virginia. He previously served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, governor and lieutenant governor of Virginia and mayor of Richmond, the state’s capital city.
“And he is a progressive who likes to get things done,” Clinton said, recycling a line she used about herself during the primaries. “That’s just my kind of guy.”
Kaine emerged as an early leader in the search for Clinton’s partner on the ticket, in part because he was nearly chosen as Barack Obama’s running mate in 2008. “I just can’t think of anybody better to have by my side, on the campaign trail, in the White House,” Clinton said about Kaine on Saturday.
South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, who helped advise Clinton’s campaign on the choice, said Kaine stood out among the three reported finalists and he could personally attest to the Virginian’s leadership.
“I’ve had more experience with Tim Kaine than all the three,” Clyburn said at a press conference on Thursday.
Clinton’s main opponent in the election, Republican Party nominee Donald Trump, called Kaine’s leadership into question immediately after the pick was announced Friday.
“Is it the same Kaine that took hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts while Governor of Virginia and didn't get indicted while Bob [McDonnell] did?” Trump tweeted, referencing the ongoing debate about the state’s weak ethics laws that saw Kaine’s successor as governor convicted of violating vague corruption statutes.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned McDonnell’s convictions, and Kaine has not been charged with any crime while maintaining he fully disclosed all donations in accordance with state guidelines.
Trump’s campaign followed up with a press release dubbing the presumptive Democratic ticket “Corrupt Kaine” and “Crooked Hillary.”
Kaine signaled Saturday he is ready for a tough general election fight, pointing to his undefeated record in elections as a politician.
“I’m 8-0 and I promise you, I’m not about to let that change!” he said. “Especially when Donald Trump stands in the way of progress on every single one of these issues that Hillary has laid out as core to her campaign.”
Clinton also referenced Kaine’s straight-line path to the top of the political heap.
“The most important qualification when you are trying to make this really big choice is, can this person step in to be president?” she said Saturday. “Well, at every stage of Tim’s career the people who know him best have voted to give him a promotion.”
Kaine has been criticized as a low-key or even “boring” choice for vice president, with the candidate laughing it off in interviews and admitting he isn't the most high-profile politician.
“Now I know for a lot of you, this might be the first time you’re hearing me speak,” Kaine said Saturday. “And hey, let me be honest, for many of you this is the first time you’ve even heard my name!”
Much of the hour-long event was based around telling Kaine’s life story to the American people, including Clinton and Kaine talking about his youth in Kansas City, his days as a civil rights lawyer in Richmond and his accomplishments as governor of Virginia.
Kaine is fluent in Spanish due to time spent as a Catholic missionary in Honduras while a Harvard Law student, and he switched back and forth between Spanish and English frequently during his address Saturday in Miami.
Kaine's wife Anne Holton is the daughter of former Virginia governor A. Linwood Holton Jr., a Republican who led the state during the early 1970s. Kaine praised his father-in-law as a leader on civil rights and a personal hero during his speech. Mrs. Holton serves as Virginia secretary of education and has three children with Kaine, including their son Nat, an active duty Marine.
Liberals have criticized Kaine for his personal opposition to abortion despite a pro-choice voting record and a perceived flip-flop on international trade. Kaine promised Saturday he would fight for a “strong progressive agenda” and touted the tough stand he took on gun control after a mass shooting at Virginia Tech University.
He also took on the role of attack dog against the other party’s ticket, invoking the words of Harry Truman to rebuke Trump’s recent rhetoric.
“America was not built on fear,” Kaine said, quoting Truman. “America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
Kaine quoted his parents to begin the final passage of his speech Saturday.
“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do,” he said. “And they don’t come any tougher, or any more compassionate than Hillary Clinton. So let’s go make history!”