Hillary Clinton has chosen her running mate, revealing Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her pick to be the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, made the announcement on Twitter Friday evening, hours after a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida.
READ MORE: Donald Trump pledges better times for U.S. in Republican convention finale
Clinton chose not to cancel her public appearance or VP announcement in the wake of the deadly attack in Munich earlier in the day.
Clinton tweeted prior to the Tampa event she was monitoring the situation in Munich, Germany, where at least nine people had died after a shooting spree at a McDonald’s restaurant near a popular shopping mall.
Republican rival Donald Trump who announced his vice presidential nominee, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, last Friday but called off a public appearance in the wake of the horrific truck attack in Nice, France.
Eighty-four people died the night of July 14 as a truck plowed into a crowd celebrating France’s national holiday, Bastille Day.
Democratic delegates will gather in Philadelphia for four days next week, where Clinton is set to be named the official presidential nominee.
Clinton, the wife for former President Bill Clinton, clinched the nomination on June 6 after winning enough delegates in a tough-fought primary season, making her the first woman to be the presumptive presidential nominee in the history of either political party.
Her vice presidential pick Kaine has been active in the Senate on foreign relations and military affairs and has built a reputation for working with both parties as Virginia’s governor and mayor of Richmond.
But his selection is not without complication. Liberals have expressed wariness of Kaine for his support of putting the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement on a “fast track” to approval, which both Clinton and primary rival Bernie Sanders oppose. They also note that Kaine recently signed onto a letter asking for less burdensome regulation of regional banks.
At the event in Tampa, Clinton slammed Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention as painting an America “in decline” and saying he’s the man to fix the countries woes.
“His vision of America is one where we Americans are kinda helpless, we need to be rescued. I can’t really imagine him on a white horse, but that seems to be what he’s telling us,” she said. “The last thing we need is someone running for president who talks trash about America.”
READ MORE: Views from the RNC: Was Donald Trump’s speech enough to win over Republicans?
Clinton didn’t hold back when it came to Trump and the GOP convention, which she deemed “perversely flattering” for spending more time talking about her than the problems facing the country.
“I never thought I’d say these words, but Ted Cruz was right,” Clinton said. “In this election, do the right thing and vote your conscience.”
It was a reference to the Texas senator and former GOP primary rival, who shocked the Republican convention by refusing to endorse the nominee. Trump on Friday further stoked his feud with Cruz, saying he wouldn’t accept Cruz’s endorsement even if it were offered.
“What difference does it make?” Trump asked, as he wondered aloud if he could create a super PAC as president to go after Cruz. He added: “Ted, stay home. Relaxe. Enjoy yourself.”
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Trump also boasted of his TV ratings, his primary victories and other achievements, including winning over his wife, Melania, in a stream-of-consciousness delivery with his vice-presidential nominee, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, standing quietly nearby.
“I don’t do anything unless I win,” Trump insisted. He promised to work “so hard” and vowed his campaign was “not going to disappear,” though he has no plans to campaign this weekend and no events on his schedule for next week.
In an 75-minute speech Thursday night, Trump made forceful promises to be the champion of disaffected Americans, capping his convention on a high note for the party, not a moment too soon after shows of disharmony and assorted flubs before the four-day closer.
Speaking to “the forgotten men and women of our country,” the people who “work hard but no longer have a voice,” he declared, “I am your voice.” The speech was strikingly dark for a celebratory event and almost entirely lacking in policy details.
Democrats offered a different assessment. President Barack Obama said Friday the picture Trump painted of the nation “doesn’t really jibe with the experience with most people.”
During their convention, Republicans were relentless and often raw in demonizing Clinton. As fired-up supporters at Trump’s acceptance speech broke out in their oft-used refrain of “Lock her up,” the nominee waved them off, and instead declared, “Let’s defeat her in November.” Yet he also accused her of “terrible, terrible crimes.”
“This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness,” he said. “But Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy.”
With files from The Associated Press
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