Tim Kaine, the Virginia senator Hillary Clinton picked as her running mate in the 2016 presidential election, gave an emotional concession speech on Wednesday morning after the two lost to Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Kaine spoke for about six minutes before Clinton took the stage to deliver her own concession speech.
Kaine began by talking about how proud he was to work alongside Clinton and her campaign, as well as praising her record. He also pointed out that Clinton did win the popular vote, but still lost the election by virtue of the electoral college.
Although Clinton’s career in public service is likely over, Kaine’s is not. Kaine is still in the middle of his first term as a U.S. Senator for Virginia. He previously served as Mayor of Richmond and Governor of Virginia.
He got the crowd really excited at the end, by quoting William Faulkner.
They kilt us, but they ain’t whipped us yet… because we know that the work remains. We know that the dream of empowering children and families remains. And in that work, that important work that we have to do as a nation, it is so comforting even in a tough time, to know that Hillary Clinton is somebody who, until her very last breath, is gonna be battling for the values that make this nation great and the values that we care so deeply about.
Here is the complete transcript for Kaine’s speech, via NPR:
Thank you so much. Please, please have a seat. My wife Anne and I are so proud of Hillary Clinton. I’m proud of Hillary Clinton because she has been and is a great history maker in everything she has done – as a civil rights lawyer, and First Lady of Arkansas, and First Lady of this country, and senator, and Secretary of State. She has made history. In a nation that is good at so many things but that has made it uniquely difficult for a woman to be elected to federal office.
She became the first major party nominee as a woman to be president and last night won the popular vote of Americans. That is an amazing accomplishment. It is an amazing accomplishment.
I’m proud of Hillary Clinton because, in the words of Langston Hughes, she has held fast to dreams. She was inspired at a young age to an epiphany that if families and children do well that’s the best barometer for whether a society does well. And everything she’s done, she’s focused on that. We know she would have made history as a president in one sense, but we’ve never had a president whose made their whole career about the empowerment of families and children.
And I was as excited about that being in the oval office as I was excited to have my friend Hillary there and make history as the first woman president.
I’m excited and proud of Hillary because she’s built such a wonderful team. There is a – there’s a beautiful and kind of comical parable in the New Testament about a vineyard owner who hires people to work and says, “And I’m going to pay you this for a full day.” Then he hires people at noon – “I’m going to pay you the same thing for the half day.” Then he hires people one hour before and – “I’m going to pay you the same.” And those who started early in the day say, “Hold on. We don’t like this. That you’re treating everybody who came late just as well as you’re treating us.” I’m going to tell you something, here’s what I’ve come to know so well about Hillary.
The team that she has assembled over the years of people that are so deeply loyal to her because she’s so deeply loyal to them is inspiring. But I’ve seen that same degree of loyalty and compassion and sensitivity extended to the most recent folks who have joined the team. The folks who came to the vineyard with just one hour to go. Her loyalty and compassion of Hillary and Bill to people – if you’re with ya you’re with ya and that is just something so remarkable.
And finally, I’m proud of Hillary because she loves this country. Nobody had to wonder about Hillary Clinton, whether she would accept an outcome of an election in our beautiful democracy. No one had to ask that question. Nobody had to doubt it. She knows our country for what it is. She knows the system that we have. And in its warts and blemishes, she’s deeply in love with it and accepts it. She’s been in battles before where if it didn’t go her way she accepted it but then woke up the next day and battled again for the dreams she has held fast to. And that love of country is something that I think is obvious to everybody. Obvious to everyone.
I want to thank Hillary Clinton for asking Anne and I to join this wild ride. About a week before she asked if I would be her running mate Anne and I went up to Westchester and we sat down with Hillary and Bill and with Chelsea and Mark and with Charlotte and Aidan for about three hours of conversation to try to determine whether we would be the right people to be on the ticket. And when we got in the car to head back to the airport after the three hour discussion, I said to Anne, “Honey, I don’t know whether we’re going to be on this ticket or not but I do know this: We’re going to remember that three hours for the rest of our life. And now we’ll remember 105 days that we’ve had with this fantastic couple of public servants and all of you for the rest of our life.
I’ll just say this: Hillary and I know well the wisdom and the words of William Faulkner, he said, “They killed us, but they ain’t whopped us yet.” They killed us, but they ain’t whopped us yet.
Because we know that the work remains. We know that the dreams of empowering families and children remain. And in that work, that important work that we have to do as a nation, it is so comforting, even as in a tough time to know that Hillary Clinton is somebody who, until her very last breath is going to be battling for the values that make this nation great and the values we care so deeply about.
So now, please join me in welcoming Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Watch Clinton’s concession speech below:
