7 Things You Didn’t Know About Vice Presidential Nominee Tim Kaine
1. He’s just as surprised at his nomination as the rest of us.
If your response to the announcement of Kaine as VP was “wait, who?” you’re not alone. Even Kaine was shocked. In his formal acceptance speech at the DNC last night, the Virgina senator said “Can I be honest with you about something? I never expected to be here.”
2. He’s a walking, talking dad joke.
At least the Internet seems to think so. Following his speech at the DNC, Twitter lit up with some pretty hilarious Kaine-inspired memes and jokes poking fun at his vanilla demeanor.
Tim Kaine strikes me as the kind of guy who says “Oh, Mylanta!” when things get heated
— D. (@DonnaMgraduates) July 28, 2016
Tim Kaine is the kind of guy who sings along with Bon Jovi Direct TV commercial.
— Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) July 28, 2016
Tim Kaine seems like the kind of guy who will listen patiently to a telemarketer’s speech, consider, and then politely say, “No, thank you.”
— Ice Cream O’Clock (@ryanoneil) July 28, 2016
Tim Kaine is the kind of guy that walks up to your cubicle and says “Someone has a case of the Mondays”. #DemsInPhilly
— Chris Kaufman (@Kauf219) July 28, 2016
3. He’s got down-to-earth roots.
The doofy dad thing makes even more sense when you consider his humble roots. Kaine was born to a middle class family in Minnesota and was raised in Kansas City, where his father was an ironworker and union rep, he said in his speech. “My parents, Al and Kathy, here tonight and going strong,” Kaine said. “They taught me about hard work, and about kindness, and, most especially, faith.” Awwww.
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4. He’s admittedly kind of boring.
When questioned about his pretty average, unremarkable, run-of-the-mill time in office, Kaine told Meet The Press, that all the talk about his flat personality is true—he really is boring. According to the New York Times, Clinton particularly loves that about him.
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5. He’s a killer speech writer
Despite being a bit of a snooze, Kaine has some serious speech-writing chops. One of his most memorable was an emotional speech in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting that boosted the then governor’s approval rating to 80 percent, according to a report by CNN. The senator and former civil-rights lawyer also delivered a passionate speech on racial reconciliation after President Obama officially received the electoral votes needed to become the nation’s first African-American president.
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6. He’s courting the Latino vote
Kaine’s addition to the ticket could mean big things for the Latino vote—the senator is fluent in Spanish and once lived in Honduras. In his speech, he told the crowd Clinton is “lista,” which according to Kaine means prepared, battle-tested, rock-solid, up for anything, and never backing down.
Is it me or does a young @timkaine look a lot like #HenryCavil? #ClintonKaine pic.twitter.com/SqBdvoo5yx
— Ansermio Jake (@JAnsermio) July 23, 2016
7. People think he’s a babe.
After Kaine’s speech, the internet flipped out upon discovering what a smokeshow the veep nominee was back in his day—seriously, check him out. And last night, when Kaine stepped out in support of Hilary at the DNC, the normally khaki-clad senator looked quite fetching in his well-tailored pantsuit ensemble. Good old Tim’s still got it.