Kaine’s Convention Moment Comes Amid Doubts on Free-Trade Stance
- Like Clinton, VP nominee only recently came out against TPP
- Virginian has said he’s ‘really passionate’ about free trade
Senator Tim Kaine and Hillary Clinton, presumptive 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, celebrate at the end of her speech during a campaign event at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia, on July 14, 2016.
Photographer: Pete Marovich/BloombergDemocratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine will introduce himself Wednesday night to a national audience that may be skeptical about his sudden conversion on trade, an issue that has roiled the party’s convention this week.
Like Hillary Clinton, Kaine is a long-time backer of free-trade deals who has come out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership only recently. But the issue is fraught for Democrats, who have watched as Donald Trump has made his opposition to TPP and other trade deals a centerpiece of his efforts to court disaffected Democrats and independents who have seen stagnant wages for decades.