Clinton chooses Virginia's Kaine

She says VP pick ‘devoted his life to fighting for others’

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia arrives for a private fundraiser Friday evening in Newport, R.I., that was hosted by fellow Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia arrives for a private fundraiser Friday evening in Newport, R.I., that was hosted by fellow Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Hillary Clinton named U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as her vice presidential running mate Friday, selecting a former governor of a crucial battleground state for the Democratic ticket.

photo

AP

Donald Trump waves a copy of Friday’s New York Times during a goodbye reception with friends and family in Cleveland after boasting of a successful Republican National Convention. “Now it was the summer of Trump, it was the autumn of Trump, it was the Christmas of Trump,” Trump said. “It was everything.”

In a text message to supporters, Clinton said, "I'm thrilled to tell you this first: I've chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my running mate."

On Twitter a few seconds later, Clinton described Kaine as "a man who's devoted his life to fighting for others." She called him "a relentless optimist who believes no problem is unsolvable if you put in the work to solve it."

Kaine tweeted, "I'm honored to be her running mate." The two will make their first appearance together today at a rally in Miami.

Clinton's decision caps a highly secretive, months-long process to find a political partner. Clinton called Kaine around 7:30 p.m. EDT Friday to offer him the job, and he accepted, according to a campaign aide. She then called President Barack Obama to inform him of the decision.

Kaine, 58, had long been a favorite for Clinton's ticket. Active in the Senate on foreign relations and military affairs, he built a reputation for working across the aisle as Virginia's governor and as mayor of Richmond. He's also fluent in Spanish, which could help the campaign appeal to many Hispanic-Americans who have been turned off by Republican Donald Trump's comments about immigrants.

Trump, in a text to his own supporters, said that Obama, Clinton and Kaine were "the ultimate insiders" and implored voters to not "let Obama have a 3rd term."

In a recent interview with CBS News, Clinton noted that Kaine has never lost an election during his lengthy political career and praised him as a "world-class mayor, governor and senator." A favorite of Obama since his early 2008 endorsement, the president told Clinton's campaign he believed that Kaine would be a strong choice during the selection process, according to a Democrat familiar with the search who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Those views are not shared by some in the Democratic Party who dislike Kaine's support of free trade and Wall Street. They pushed Clinton to pick Massachusetts' Sen. Elizabeth Warren or Ohio's Sen. Sherrod Brown, intensifying their criticism of Kaine late this week as his selection appeared imminent.

Clinton made no mention of her impending pick during a somber meeting Friday with community leaders and family members affected by the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando and at a later campaign rally in Tampa.

The Democrats are expected to formally nominate Clinton at their convention in Philadelphia, which begins Monday. The slot reserved for the vice presidential pick is on Wednesday night, with the party's presidential nominee to speak Thursday.

Kaine received praise from many Democratic delegates for his wide-ranging experience, even as many others acknowledged that he would not generate a higher level of enthusiasm.

"People are going to discount Tim Kaine, and have in the past, and it's going to be a lot more exciting than maybe what Bernie Sanders delegates will think," said Katie Naranjo, a Clinton superdelegate from Austin, Texas. She said that while Kaine may seem like a "conventional choice," he will balance the ticket well for the general election.

Delegates who support U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont indicated uncertainty about embracing a Clinton ticket. Sanders endorsed Clinton last week.

It "was a horrible pick," said Angie Morelli, a Sanders delegate from Nevada. "In a time when she is trying to cater to Sanders supporters, it was more catering to conservative voters, and she's not going to get any wave from it." She said she's bothered by Kaine's association with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a global trade pact that Sanders and Clinton oppose.

But Jocelyn Bucaro, an Ohio superdelegate and Clinton supporter, praised Kaine as someone who will appeal to a broad range of voters in swing states, even Republicans uncomfortable with Trump.

"The most important consideration is his ability to step in as president, and he clearly has the experience, knowledge, intelligence and temperament to do that," Bucaro said.

Before entering politics, Kaine was an attorney who specialized in civil rights and fair housing. He began learning Spanish during a mission trip to Honduras while in law school, an experience he still refers to on the campaign trail. During his political career, he's demonstrated an ability to woo voters across party lines, winning his 2006 gubernatorial race with support in both Democratic strongholds and traditionally Republican strongholds. He's served in the U.S. Senate since 2012.

His wife, Anne Holton, is the daughter of a former Virginia governor. She is a former state judge and currently serves as the state's education secretary. The couple has three children.

Cruz Feud Flares

Before Clinton named her running mate Friday, Trump met with supporters at his convention hotel in Cleveland to run through a long list of thank-yous after the end of the four-day Republican gathering.

Trump boasted of his TV ratings, his primary victories and other achievements, including winning over his wife, Melania, in a stream-of-consciousness delivery with his vice presidential nominee, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, standing quietly nearby.

"Now it was the summer of Trump, it was the autumn of Trump, it was the Christmas of Trump," Trump said. "It was everything."

But rather than stay focused on Clinton or reach out to the general-election voters whom he now must court, the newly minted Republican nominee spent considerable time stoking the fire of his bitter quarrel with Republican former rival Ted Cruz.

After bragging that he had unified the party in one of the most "love-filled" conventions in political history, Trump started on an extended diatribe against Cruz, who declined to endorse him during his own convention speech Wednesday night, instead urging people to vote their conscience.

Trump declared he would never accept Cruz's backing, anyway.

"He'll come and endorse, it's because he has no choice. But I don't want his endorsement. If he gives it, I won't accept it," Trump said. "Ted, stay home. Relax. Enjoy yourself."

Cruz, in Georgia on Friday to campaign for a Republican congressional candidate, never mentioned Trump but received a standing ovation upon his entrance and again when he mentioned "a little-noticed talk that I gave in Cleveland."

During the convention, Cruz drew a standing ovation when he first emerged and was cheered loudly for most of his speech. But as it drew to a close, and it became apparent that Cruz would not offer the nominee a full-throated endorsement or urge his hundreds of delegates to vote for Trump come November, boos echoed across the arena.

Trump then made a surprise appearance in his private box, glaring at the stage as Cruz departed.

The Republican nominee made no mention of Cruz as he read his 75-minute speech from the teleprompters Thursday night, but switched gears Friday morning.

The invite-only reception for supporters and staff members at Trump's Cleveland hotel was for Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to make perfunctory remarks saluting the convention and pledging to win in November.

Trump, in jest, suggested that he might fault Pence should he not win the White House in November.

"I ran as an outsider, I didn't want anybody. Now I have guys like Mike Pence," he said. "See now if I don't win, I'm going to blame Mike, right? We have to blame Mike."

But Trump spent nearly 15 minutes ruminating aloud about why the U.S. senator from Texas would not back him.

Trump called Cruz's nonendorsement "dishonorable" before revisiting the hubbub over the celebrity businessman March's re-tweet of a post that juxtaposed a photo of Heidi Cruz with a shot of Melania Trump, a former model. Cruz criticized Trump for involving his wife; Trump's rebuttal at the time was to accuse a super political action affiliated with Cruz of sending a risque photo of Melania Trump to Utah voters.

"I didn't start anything with the wife," Trump said. "Then when I saw somebody tweeted a picture of Melania and a picture of Heidi, who I think, by the way, is a very nice woman and a very beautiful woman.

"I think [she's] the best thing he's got going and his kids if you want to know the truth," he said.

Trump then turned to justifying how, on the eve of the Indiana primary that proved to be Cruz's last stand, he touted a story in the National Enquirer tabloid that printed a photo that purported to show Cruz's father, Rafael, with Lee Harvey Oswald.

"All I did was point out the fact that on the cover of the National Enquirer there was a picture of him and crazy Lee Harvey Oswald having breakfast," the GOP nominee said. "Did anybody ever deny that was the father? They're not saying, 'Oh that wasn't really my father.' It was a little hard to do. It looked like him."

Trump added, "This is a magazine that frankly in many respects should be very respected."

Cruz, in May, denied that his father was in the photo.

Obama Slams Trump

Meanwhile, Obama on Friday offered his first response to the Republican convention, blasting the vision painted by Trump and other Republicans of a country "on the verge of collapse" as a fiction that does not match reality.

"The one thing that I think is important to recognize is this idea that America is somehow on the verge of collapse, this vision of violence and chaos everywhere, doesn't really jibe with the experience of most people," Obama said during a news conference at the White House. "I hope people the next morning walked outside and birds were chirping and the sun was out, and this afternoon, people will be watching their kids play in sports teams and go to the swimming pool and folks are going to work and getting ready for the weekend.

"And in particular, I think it is important, just to be absolutely clear here, that some of the fears that were expressed throughout the week just don't jibe with the facts," he said.

Obama made his remarks to the media after a bilateral meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Obama said he did not watch the convention in Cleveland, but the president did read news coverage of the event. He praised federal and municipal law enforcement agencies for maintaining public safety during the week.

Obama took issue with suggestions from some Republicans -- after high-profile mass shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando and of police officers in Baton Rouge and Dallas -- that the United States was devolving into lawlessness and disorder. He said statistics show that the murder rate and violent-crime rate are lower than they were during President Ronald Reagan's tenure in the 1980s and when Obama took office in 2009.

The violent-crime rate has been on a long-term decline, receding to 366 per 100,000 people in 2014. It was 758 per 100,000 in the peak year of 1991.

Obama also said illegal-immigration rates are far lower than in past years. About 331,000 people were apprehended crossing the Mexican border illegally last year; there were 1.6 million arrests in 1986, during Reagan's tenure.

"The Republicans had an opportunity this week to share their vision with the country and emphasized those issues that they thought were important," Obama said. "And I'm going to let the American people judge how persuasive their arguments were."

Information for this article was contributed by Ashley Parker and Alan Rappeport of The New York Times; by Jonathan Lemire, Darlene Superville, Bradley Klapper, Calvin Woodward, Ken Thomas, Alan Suderman and Bill Barrow of The Associated Press; and by Juliet Eilperin and David Nakamura of The Washington Post.

A Section on 07/23/2016

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