At a rally in Greensboro Wednesday afternoon, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine said voters cannot trust Donald Trump, criticized House Bill 2 and stressed the importance of this swing state in November.The U.S. Senator from Virginia also touted his running mate Hillary Clinton before a crowd of about 400 supporters. He visited a hospitality company in High Point earlier in the day, before heading to an old train station in Greensboro.
Kaine said this year’s election is a choice between the "you're fired" and the "you're hired" candidates. He also said last week’s federal court ruling that struck down North Carolina’s voter ID law is important.
"If your vote didn't matter, would the other side be working so hard to make sure that you couldn't go to the polls and vote?" he said. "Your vote matters… and after this court ruling, we have to show everyone our vote matters and vote for Hillary Clinton."
Kaine spoke to an energetic crowd in what was once a bustling transportation center, with vaulted ceilings, old wooden benches and even a bank of pay phones. He was joined by a handful of state democratic dignitaries, including Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Roy Cooper; former state legislator Deborah Ross, who is running to unseat Richard Burr; Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan; Congresswoman Alma Adams; and State House Representative Chris Sgro, among others.
While he touched on the economy, it was not too specific from a policy standpoint.
Kaine said Trump has no plan for success and cited Trump’s business record, and again used the rift about 'Believe me' – an almost gentle mocking of Trump.
Kaine didn't spend too long specifically on HB2, but pivoted to what he called the battle for LGBT equality. He said it’s the latest fight for human rights that the Democratic Party has stood up for. From there, he turned his speech to last week's federal court ruling. The ruling struck down a 2013 North Carolina voting law that cut early voting, eliminated same day registration and mandated a photo identification.
And throughout the speech, Kaine seemed to be using these issues as fuel for people to vote.
"This election gives the strong men of America the chance to stand up and support a strong woman," said Kaine, to a cheering crowd.
Donald Trump's Republican running mate Mike Pence is scheduled to speak in Raleigh Thursday morning.
