Hillary Clinton will appear today at Florida International University in Miami, Fla., alongside her newly-announced running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. His fluency in Spanish will serve him well at the school, where more than half of the student body is Latino.
Kaine wakes up facing the biggest spotlight of his life, just days away from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. He’s reportedly trending higher on Twitter than Donald Trump’s pick Mike Pence, ever did, even on the night he spoke at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland (thanks, Ted Cruz). Kaine’s Senate colleague, Cory Booker, who reports say was considered for the job, praised the career politician in a catchy, three-word tweet:
KAINE IS ABLE!!!
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) July 23, 2016
But the tweets from progressive Democrats, liberals, and of course Trump himself were not so flattering. They composed a barrage of 140-character or less messages, telling the world why they were disappointed, let down or otherwise surprised by the selection of the Catholic former governor who personally opposes abortion but has politically supported abortion rights. Here’s a sampling from across the Twitterverse:
I go away from the internet for five hours and Elizabeth Warren has been dumped for a smear of vegan mayonnaise??? https://t.co/iHUBNcJKPB
— Mary Emily O'Hara (@MaryEmilyOHara) July 23, 2016
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 M did?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2016
I believe both personally and as a matter of policy in a woman's right to choose. Unfortunately I can't say both for Hillary's VP Tim Kaine.
— Dr. Jill Stein🌻 (@DrJillStein) July 23, 2016
Kaine is pro-choice. NARAL gives him a 100% rating.
— Steve Weinstein (@steveweinstein) July 23, 2016
@JeanetteJing #FeelTheBern @DrJillStein #HilNo #TimKaine Has a Troubling Record on Labor https://t.co/CdE7TDT70X https://t.co/49J8AeS5qZ
— ruth (@ruthtaka) July 23, 2016
Clinton and Kaine or Trump and Pence offers no real way out of the multiple crises facing the planet …. https://t.co/LalIwF8DuH
— Ideas in Motion (@Chaosbeauty2014) July 23, 2016
And somewhere in America, there are still trolls like this one. This was just one of several offensive anti-LGBT tweets targeting Kaine, who is straight, married to a woman and the father of three children but a longtime queer ally (incidentally, this account was reported for abusive language by an out LGBTQ person):
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https://twitter.com/akaSPB/status/756726908553826304
But aside from the puns using Kaine’s name, the most popular theme for a tweet utilized the letter “Z:”
TIM KAINE zzz.zzzz.zzzzz……zzz…z….zzz…z.z.z.z.
— goyellup (@rewog0515) July 22, 2016