(PHILADELPHIA) — Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine said Donald Trump is “a threat to everything” Bernie Sanders and his supporters stand for.
“They understand who Hillary [Clinton] is and they understand that Donald Trump is a threat to everything they care about,” the Virginia senator said in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts on Good Morning America Thursday.
“We got to pull it together to win,” he added.
Kaine, who officially accepted the nomination as Clinton’s running mate Wednesday night, acknowledged that the Democratic National Convention began in “turmoil” with Sanders’ delegates protesting a Clinton presidency. In a bid to show a unified front, Sanders moved that Clinton be selected as the party’s nominee for president on Tuesday night. The motion, followed by some big names in politics throwing their full support behind Clinton, has since helped lift the tone of the convention.
Kaine said he’s confident that his party would ultimately unite come election day and elect Clinton over Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.
“I was a big Obama guy back in ’08 and was part of the team trying to bring everybody together,” Kaine said, referring to when President Obama won the party’s nomination over Clinton. “I actually think where we are now, we’re farther ahead than we were eight years ago.”
Kaine, 58, grew up in Minnesota where his father was employed as an ironworker. During his primetime speech at the convention Wednesday night, Kaine admitted he “never expected to be here.”
“My mom and dad are here and they’re still stunned that they got somebody in politics in the family,” Kaine laughed. “My parents’ strong faith background made me a real believer in helping others.”
When he ran for governor of Virginia 11 years ago, Kaine made clear to voters that he was against abortion and same-sex marriage. A decade later, the senator strongly supports marriage equality and has voted against a bill that would bar abortion after 20 weeks.
Kaine now calls himself “a progressive,” though admittedly less so than Sanders.
“I’m a progressive in the South and that may be different than being a progressive in Vermont,” he said.
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