Tim Kaine can't explain why he hasn't asked Hillary Clinton about her Wall Street speeches


Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine found himself speechless in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, leaving an awkward silence when Tapper asked why Kaine has not spoken with Hillary Clinton about the accuracy of leaked excerpts of speeches she gave to Wall Street audiences.
The speeches, obtained by hackers and released by WikiLeaks, see Clinton telling bankers her "dream" is "open borders and open markets," a claim that doesn't entirely jibe with her public trade and immigration policies. As Tapper grilled Kaine about the tapes, the candidate attempted to deflect. "Jake, I have no way of knowing the accuracy of documents dumped by this hacking organization," he said.
"Well, you could ask her," Tapper shot back, and the resulting moment of silence felt like an eternity. Watch the cringe-worthy exchange below. Bonnie Kristian
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
The seven strangest historical discoveries made in 2025
The Explainer From prehistoric sunscreen to a brain that turned to glass, we've learned some surprising new facts about human history
-
Sudoku hard: June 19, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Crossword: June 19, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores