While in Virginia, Trump bashes Kaine
GOP nominee aims at state’s native son
Donald Trump made his first post-convention campaign appearance Monday in Virginia and spent much of his time attacking a native son: Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s new running mate.
“Tim Kaine? Nobody knows who he is,” Trump told supporters in Roanoke about their senator and former governor. “He’s doing a terrible job for Virginia.”
Stumping in a once-solidly Republican state that is now very much up for grabs, Trump recited statistics he says reflect poorly on Kaine’s performance in Virginia when it comes to unemployment, lost manufacturing jobs and proposed tax hikes.
Kaine is “a political hack” who will only support Clinton’s programs that will lead to a “massive, massive tax increase,” Trump said.
The Republican nominee also described Kaine’s selection as an insult to Bernie Sanders supporters he is trying to attract by harping on mutual opposition to existing free trade deals.
Picking Kaine also reflects Clinton’s “bad judgment,” the Republican nominee said.
It was Trump’s first full-blown campaign stop since formally accepting the Republican nomination on Thursday night (he did address campaign volunteers in Cleveland the morning after his speech).
Many political analysts question whether running mates can make much of a difference in presidential elections.
But some believe they can help the ticket in their home states — and Virginia is a key part of both campaigns’ calculations to put together the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Virginia offers 13 electoral votes. Republicans have counted on the state for decades.