Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump unveiled a new line of attack against Sen. Tim Kaine in an interview broadcast on Sunday, blasting Democratic rival Hillary Clinton’s running mate for taking more than $160,000 in gifts when he was governor of Virginia.
Mr. Trump compared Mr. Kaine to his successor, former Republican governor Bob McDonnell, who was recently cleared by the U.S. Supreme Court of corruption convictions related to gifts he took while in office.
“Bob McDonald took a fraction of what Kaine took, and I think, to me it’s a big deal,” Mr. Trump said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “How do you take all these gifts? Hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Virginia ethics laws were tightened in the wake of the charges against Mr. McDonnell, who took gifts and loans valued at $177,000.
But due to Mr. Kaine’s gift-taking and support of the Obama administration’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, Mr. Trump said he “loved” Mrs. Clinton’s choice of vice-presidential running mate.
“He’s in favor of TPP and every other trade deal that he’s ever looked at, and that means he wants people not to work,” said Mr. Trump. “Now, he is going to change his tune, and I understand he is now going to say he is against TPP. Hillary Clinton was totally in favor of TPP, which is a job killer, right? So is he.”
“I love it from my standpoint,” he said. “I love the choice.”
The billionaire real estate mogul also said the selection is a “slap in the face” to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mrs. Clinton’s primary rival, who opposes TPP.
“What happened with the choice of Tim Kaine was a slap in the face to Bernie Sanders and everybody — I was shocked,” Mr. Trump said.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.