Tim Kaine talks faith and kindness: 'I wanted to fight for social justice'

Democratic U.S. vice presidential candidate Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) waves with his presidential running-mate Hillary Clinton after she introduced him during a campaign rally in Miami, Florida, U.S. on July 23, 2016.Reuters

Democratic vice presidential bet Tim Kaine is a devout Catholic who is known by many for his strong faith and values, and he says it's all thanks to the loving upbringing of his parents.

"My parents, Al and Kathy, taught me about hard work, and about kindness, and, most importantly, faith. I went to a Jesuit boys school – Rockhurst High School. The motto of our school was 'men for others.' That's where my faith became vital, a North Star for orienting my life. And I knew that I wanted to fight for social justice," he says, according to The Christian Post. "That's why I took a year off law school to volunteer with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras. I taught kids welding and carpentry."

It was during his Honduras mission trip that Kaine became fluent in Spanish, and he used this knowledge in beefing up support for his running mate Hillary Clinton.

"The next President will face many challenges. We better elect the candidate who's proven she can be trusted with the job. The candidate who's proven she's ready for the job. And, when I say ready, I use 'ready' for a specific reason. When I lived in Honduras, I learned that the best compliment you could give someone was to say they were 'listo' – ready," Kaine says.

"Not 'inteligente' – smart. Not 'amable' – friendly. Not 'rico' – rich. But 'listo.' Because what 'listo' means in Spanish is prepared, battle-tested, rock-solid, up for anything, never backing down. And friends, Hillary Clinton, she is 'lista,'" he continues.

In contrast, Kaine did not have nice things to say about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Kaine says people cannot believe anything that Trump says because his only interest is in himself.

At the same time, he slammed Trump as a "slick-talking, empty-promising, self-promoting, one-man wrecking crew" who does not hold any respect for women.

"But don't take it from me. Take it from former first lady Barbara Bush. She said she didn't know how any woman could vote for him after his offensive comments about women," he says.