the rachel maddow show starts right now. good evening, rachel. >> good evening, chris. anything going on? i was taking a nap. >> no, not a whole lot. it was a pretty chill day. >> pretty chill day? maddow sho right now. >> thanks to you at home for joining us. if you go now to trumppence.com, it's still some web site someone is still trying to sell today. do you want to see clint clintonkaine.com? come on. yes! hillary potter. and there's a donald trump

figure with a little septor. at the end, look, it's a snake. and i think that is tim kaine up in the upper left-hand corner there maybe flying in on a broom to help hillary potter. you would think that the presidential campaigns would get this web site thing together but they don't. they really don't. hillary clinton within the last hour sent out a text announcing tim kaine as her running mate. it says, "i'm thrilled to tell you this first, i've chosen tim kaine as my running mate. welcome him to our team."

moments after that on the hillary clinton twitter page, they posted a video of tim kaine. >> remember, folks, tough times don't last but tough people do last. we've been through tough times as a nation, but we are tough people. >> they sent a text, posted a tweet, posted a video and posted the announcement on espaniole. we are in the first hour of knowing who hillary clinton's running mate is going to be and they have rolled this out like a marching band at state finals. boom, boom, boom, ducks in a row, except for the web site.

the great equalizer, web squatters. virginia senator tim kaine is 58 years old. he was also famously on the vice presidential short list for president obama in 2008. he was an early endorser of president obama in his primary campaign against hillary clinton in 2008. president obama named senator tim kaine -- he wasn't senator then, named tim kaine to run the dnc shortly after president obama was inaugurated. he ran for the u.s. senate in 2011. he won that u.s. senate seat. he has previously been governor of virginia. before that he was the

lieutenant governor, and before that he was a mayor. he's a devout catholic, grew up near kansas city, his dad was a welder. he has big, ornate eyebrows which his staff tease him about. he's on the senate foreign relations committee. he played an aggressive role in trying to get congress to debate and authorize military force against isis. he is broadly seen in democratic politics as a nice guy. he is broadly liked, the equivalent politician in terms of democratic candidate who doesn't have an enemy in the world was klobuchar.

and liberals wanted hillary clinton to choose someone more liberal. we'll hear a lot more about that tonight. tim kaine has been saddled for a long time with the idea of -- with the moniker of being the boring choice, the safe choice of the v.p. oh, he's boring, he's the safe choice. i'm not sure the clinton campaign sees boring and a safe choice as a down side to tim kaine. they may seem that as an up

side. announcing your pick at 8:15 p.m. on a friday night is what you would do if you were trying to maximize attention to your veep choice. kristen, it's great to see you. thanks for being with us. >> reporter: rachel, thanks for having me. appreciate it. >> 8:15 p.m. on a friday, it usually news dump territory, not something you want people to notice. why did the announcement get pushed to so late at night? >> reporter: we're still trying to nail that down. at first we thought it could be because of what happened in munich. campaign officials say that wasn't the reason. they say there was some miscommunication within the campaign. we thought it was going to

happen hours ago, rachel, but again, it is happening now after secretary's event here in tampa. i think part of that is putting the final touches on this roll-out. about an hour ago, campaign chair john podesta who weren't going to be secretary cln that the framing of that phone call, when she announced hip, when she told him, when she made that offer, look, she really wants a governing partner. it was part of what felt like a dr delay from our standpoint. they're hoping that they will get a bump tomorrow. as you pointed out, rachel, he's

going to but one of the key things for secretary and his foreign policy experience and his very long resumé, the if a that he served as senator but he served as a former governor to virginia. so all of those things i'd say contributed to this decision by hillary clinton, which is a little bit later than we were anticipating. we had been advised that friday, that today was probably going to be the day. this obviously parallels the announcement in 2008 right after barack obama accepts the n nomination for the democratic party. the next day the republican party announced sarah palin to sort of quack that pick. but in thinking the two parties here, they had some unexpected things about the roll-out of mike pence. in the donald trump campaign

reported some of the maybe he rel was considering other people on his short test right until the very end. is there anything indication that anything like that happened in the clinton campaign? or does it seem to you they were shore about cane. >> i think that's a great point, april. based on my reporting, back in april there really wasn't wiggle room. she was given a binder by john podesta with about 3 games or near the top of the list but look, she had that event with him, that rally in virginia last

week. the campaign secretary joe clinton felt very, very close to that. i am told that she felt as though they had good chemistry not only as well as par day anding what's significant about what is he is the only candidate who she met with twice. so that she wasn't wavering on this choice. having said so, she wanted to make sure i'm on the road before making a final decision. one more point i'll make. stra teej i tried for the last 48 hours. they kept it is he close to the valuable.

>> we saw the public petition for cain and warren. with caused a lot of political sense as a running money, maybe the possibility among hopes like a good really, good. if it was me, we knew it

waenlt going to be against k. k.t. -- well, the timing, i was always looking for the curveball in the last few weeks. the head fake or whatever, you didn't really see it. when you look back a lot of times when you see in these pictures are candidates that are addressing a klum he needed something that seemed dramatic and, sighting and totally

unpredictable. he got more than he bargained for arguably. that's how he came up with a. al gore meefd that blind and himself personal scandals who had been the biggest critical of ib you don't look at the rollout of trip, it made it urgent that they someone who lost her place. christian is talking about the

safe snm spm you can prioritize that more than you normally would. whether or not having a candidate who is fluent in spanish, even though he may have some impact there. >> i think we have the board ready for you. >> absolutely. we are going to keep reporting

out this announcement tonight and also the reaction. timkin.

how would you describe your

position? >> i say people use labels all the time. a kind of like, look, i'm a pornl injury. i think even as a mother matter of politics, even about more alts and repro kuks and inand the last tng woo need is twice is none o space because of his favorite, it is that a strong enough defense of that constitutional right, particularly among voters who might railroad a right a crucial question in terms of how they

vote and wh they vote this lks. is he seal, president of planned parenthood. good your reaction to the kim came nomination? >> he's very enthusiastic. he 131 'mapt and attacks on aks so try to lib iial we've ever h. the flofrm is strong are than it ephs spch spch in 2005 we looked up his positions on abortion. he said on his web site at the

time, i have a beth based on tin and then he losts four things, enforces the current virginia restrictions and forces a part lk, ensure women's access to health care and economic thunt he would promote adoption for spg way was that. >> i feel he has been really strong on the issues, we have the strongest position harl hi

ever, $ ulgt pmt fmt beside being so extreme on gay land elizabeth. diyou of of of of of of at this of of health hl 6 -- >> i think we'll settle the issue to a certain extent as to

whether on tim kaine -- he may have to explain his evolution. thanks for explaining where you are. >> at the seem richards, president of planned parenthood. in a moment we are going to be jond joined by one of bernie sanders's supports are. stay with us. constipated?

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>> senator kaine is known for holding some centrist and establishment position, sort of middle of the party positions, for liberals who supported bernie sanders in particular or were hoping that hillary clinton would keep moving left on policy, particularly economic policy, tim kaine was not necessarily her first choice for running mate. joining me is my friend ben gellias.

>> hey, it's great to see you. >> what's real is this puts a lot of pressure on her. tim's a nice guy. a lot of latinos appreciate he

speaks spanish but they know they could have had castro. hillary clinton is at the center of the stage with the spotlight basically on nobody else, having to convince the base of the democratic party not just to vote for her but to turn out and to work and to get excited and to push unlikely voters. that's where the challenge is going to be -- is going to come from. and tim is a nice guy. he's not the most courageous politician in the democratic party. it's not clear how he helps. >> in terms of what the vice president does, i think we've seen some radically different approaches over the last few administrations but the -- aside from that radical outcrop, vice

president isn't that much of a policy job. it's sort of more of an understudy job. you do get stuff you get put in charge of and dispatched to do things. is there anything that hillary clinton could do in term of her own policy positions that might make you feel more confident in this choice? >> frank will you, we're going to look to her. she's going to have to be the one to really convince the base of the party that they should really fight for her. she has to give us something to fight for. so far what we have really is someone to fight against donald trump.

there's a lot of folks who could have helped her win more than tim kaine is going to help. >> ben, thanks for coming in on short notice to talk to us tonight about this. i really appreciate it. >> thank you. i don't know if the clinton campaign watches msnbc, you should call ben. getting his endorsement would be a big deal. we'll be right back.

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tim kaine is hillary clinton's running mate. bill jealous said on air that tim kaine will not help hillary clinton win. >> what you just showed is really key what tim kaine could

do for hillary clinton. he could harden a pattern that significantly narrows donald trump's path to 270. you put the number of from '08 and '12 in virginia. right now. this is what our ladies hillary clinton up by nine points. this is a state that all the way up until twass an republican bastion. when barack obama beat jackson there in 2008, that was the first time since 64. he won. >> you had tim kaine in virginia. that could be significant obviously in the state but what it really does, it reflects a changing electoral map.

colorado's been trending blue,

nevada's been trending blue, mexico. those states are much tougher for trump to take now. it pushes him into that rest strategy. you got to find a way. it's a narrow path. take virginia off the board, if that's what happens. that was narrowing for fassel. their first attempt tomorrow in florida. we'll be right back.

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in terms of tim cane as a president different person, what do you think he's best at as a politician and what do you think he's weaknesses. hoose a believer in possibilities but one the the bus he read at the harr var sharr love to -- the power did

not change on republican issues. in the united states senate, he dusted off an idea that came out of the miller center at the university of virginia, a rewrite of the war powers act. this was something that was very timely, given that war for the most part has been waged by recent presidents, by executive. this puts distance between tim cane and his good --

>> has governor kaine ever had pressure from the left? i ask because he's about to get some. >> not very upon. i think the feeling about job job f then a red line in case against a major insurance company on which he received a monday frously large settlement. so there's a lot in his background, i think his people would say, that kmends him to the left. and also his faith. he's a def out interests sfnchs

this is a guy who is as comfortable quoting sculptures, nal use, it is nong shoppia point tim cane rying to response it, as you might mention. there were not a lot of members of the clong, let alone the senate for him to do the root thing on that. ♪

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>> i know you're bushed. tomorrow at noon hillary clinton and tim kaine will appear together for the first time as the democratic presidential and vice presidential ticket. that's at noon eastern and on sunday a special note about "meet the press." it's going to be live from philadelphia on sunday. i'm going to be on "meet the press" this sunday and come monday it is the democratic convention. the evening coverage starts monday, chuck todd at 5 earn, then chris hayes at 6, then i'll be joined by brian williams and kress matthews and the whole team going until we are no longer coherent. it's going to be a big week.

get your sleep while can you. that's no time soon.

this was a -- is this a

tweet? no, it's a text. it's a fund-raising text from the trump folks. tim kaine is hillary's vp pick, the ultimate insiders. obama, hillary and kaine. don't let obama had a third term. kaine is able. i see what you did there, senator. and this reaction from missouri, senator claire mccaskill. "he's a kind and thoughtful person. he'll be a wonderful vp. congratulations to my friend. and republican senator jeff flake, "trying to count the ways

i hate tim kaine. drawing a blanc. congratulations to a good man and a good friend. >> you are a hillary clinton supporter? >> i am. >> are you happy with tim kaine? >> i am. i like tim kaine a lot. i want to take a little issue with what ben jealous said when he described him as not being courageous. this is where the nra is based, who has an f rating from the nra, signed an executive order taking guns out of the hands of mentally ill people after the virginia tech -- he's closed a bunch of loopholes. he's been a great vote on gun control, which obviously has become a bigger priority for

secretary clinton in this campaign. i think there's a lot to like. i very happy when the gentleman from virginia, that great reporter, brought up his work on civil rights. he won a tremendous settlement from nationwide, $17.5 million around redlining. >> the racist housing process. >> yeah. >> he goes to an african-american church, he sends his kids to a majority black school in richmond. he's got a lot to offer. i'm concerned about the tpp vote. he may not be as progressive as i am. i have those concerns but i

think as progressives, we need more of a big tent approach and stop trying to read people out of our movement or our corner or our cafeteria table. >> i don't think it's to read people out. i think there's a really effort to move the democratic campaign to the left. so on banking regulation, on trade, do you want kaine to move to those issues. do you want assurances from clinton? >> i do. i believe he said he will not support the tpp. i believe that was a condition of their becoming a team. she supports ending the hyde amendment and providing medicaid funding for abortion.

i assume he's coming on the ticket and supports that, too. >> he had been previously anti-abortion. >> i'm irish catholic, too. i have a lot of relatives who feel the same way. i think all can ask is you take a position in the public sphere that this is a woman's individual choice. >> it's great to see you. you're the first point i wanted to talk to when i heard about this. we'll be right back. ♪ take on any road with intuitive all-wheel drive. the nissan rogue, murano and pathfinder. now get 0% apr for 72 months, plus $500 bonus cash. ♪ kellogg's® frosted 8 layers of wheat... and one that's sweet. for the adult and kid in all of us.

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...coach gilman used his cash rewards credit card from bank of america to earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. at places like the batting cages. ♪ [ crowd cheers ] 2% back at grocery stores and now at wholesale clubs. and 3% back on gas. which helped him give his players something extra. the cash rewards credit card from bank of america. more cash back for the things you buy most. so this was the front page of "the washington post" this morning. "trump paints ominous picture," full all-column headline. by this afternoon the post had issued a full-throated, full page, possibly unprecedented anti-endorsement of donald trump. "while we recognize this is not the usual moment to make such a

statement, in an ordinary election year we would acknowledge the republican nominee, move on and spend the following months like the voters evaluating the candidates' performance in debates on the stump and in position papers. they call trump a unique and present danger. they say the democratic system is strong and proved resilient when tested before. we have faith in it but to elect mr. trump would be to knowingly subject it to threat. "the washington post" tonight is not coming out now and endorsing hillary clinton but they did take this remarkable step in july, the day after the republican nominee accepted the nomination. they came out today to say, in

effect, they will never affect dump -- donald trump's nominate. but that was day one of the republican side of the general election this year. the conventions are really early this year. the democratic election in 2012 was in september. this is the earlier convention since 1960. so this is going to be one of the longest general elections in modern history but today was day one of that on the republican side. as of today trump can take general election donations. the republican party can fund him as their nominee. donald trump's daughter tweeted out this link so you could shop her link to what she wore at the dnc.

and klan who'sy what'sy david duke said he will stand up for the rights and heritage of white people in this country. day one. republican side of general election this year. ah. and it's lawrence o'donnell on a big night. >> i'm ready to set them up as paper mache figures to fight. al franken