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Hillary Clinton officially unveils Tim Kaine as VP pick

By Eric DuVall
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton stands with her pick for vice president, Virginia Sen.Tim Kaine, as he waves to supporters during a rally at Florida International University in Miami. Clinton and Kaine will attend the 2016 Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia starting Monday. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
1 of 3 | Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton stands with her pick for vice president, Virginia Sen.Tim Kaine, as he waves to supporters during a rally at Florida International University in Miami. Clinton and Kaine will attend the 2016 Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia starting Monday. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo

MIAMI, July 23 (UPI) -- Hillary Clinton formally unveiled her vice presidential pick, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine at a rally in Florida on Saturday, calling him "everything that Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not."

Kaine quickly displayed what may turn out to be one of his biggest attributes on the campaign trail, his fluency in Spanish, delivering remarks in both Spanish and English at Florida International University in Miami, a school with a 60 percent Hispanic student population.

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Kaine is Virginia's former governor and, prior to that, the mayor of Richmond. He made a point of highlighting an unblemished campaign win-loss record throughout his career.

"I've never lost an election," he said to applause. "I don't mind powerful groups campaigning against me. That's just like an extra cup of coffee to me, folks. It just gets me more excited. I'm 8-0, and I promise you: I'm not about to let that change, especially when Donald Trump stands in the way of progress on every single one of these issues that Hillary has laid out as part of her campaign, and many, many more."

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Kaine acknowledged average Americans may not have heard of him before, but pledged he would work hard to convince voters he is worthy of being a heartbeat away from the presidency.

"Now, I know for a lot of you this might be the first time you're hearing me speak. And let me be honest, for many of you, this is the first time you've ever even heard my name," he joked. "But that's OK because I'm excited for us to get to know one another."

Kaine, 58, is a married father of three with a son in the Marines who is about to deploy to Europe.

Kaine made a point mentioning his son's military service as a means to attack Trump over comments he made recently about refusing to defend NATO allies if they were attacked by Russia.

Kaine said his son is "deploying to Europe to uphold America's commitment to our NATO allies."

"For me, this drives home the stakes in this election," Kaine said. "Nearly 2 million men and women put their lives on the line for this country -- as active duty, as reservists, as guard members -- they deserve a commander in chief with the experience and the temperament to lead. What does Donald Trump say about these great Americans, these 2 millions? He repeatedly calls the American military, quote, a disaster."

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Clinton introduced Kaine at the rally, calling him ready to become president on a moment's notice.

"I have to say that Sen. Tim Kaine is everything that Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not," Clinton began. "He is qualified to step into this job and lead on day one, and he is a progressive who likes to get things done."

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