Has Elizabeth Warren Reacted To The Kaine Pick?

On Friday, after months and months of waiting, speculation, expectation, and uncertainty, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton made it official: She's picked Virginia Senator and former Governor Tim Kaine to be her running mate, solidifying the last major party slot in the 2016 race. Now, everyone knows how the next few months will look, with the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence facing off against Clinton-Kaine. But it's left some to wonder: How do the other contenders feel? For example, what's Elizabeth Warren's reaction to Kaine's VP selection?

It's not as though Warren didn't have suspicions ahead of Friday that she wouldn't be the pick. In an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night, Warren admitted to Colbert that she hadn't heard any news yet, which probably meant it wasn't going to be her.

The conventional political wisdom was aligned against her, too ― Kaine was widely viewed as the "safe" pick for Clinton, a political moderate from a swing state. Although, pairing his moderation with Clinton's center-left politics after a divisive primary campaign that forced her to the left (and specifically on issues like trade, where Kaine now has to flip-flop), there's a reasonable case to be made that he's not as safe a choice as portrayed.

In any event, as a progressive champion on the very same issues that might give the Democratic base pause about Kaine ― his Wall Street ties and desire to strip banking regulations, for example ― how Warren responds and campaigns could have a big impact. And so far, if you're hoping for a rapid-response, ringing endorsement of the new Democratic ticket from her, you're going to be disappointed.

As of Saturday afternoon, Warren hasn't tweeted or publicly commented about Kaine's selection at all. She did get into a testy back-and-forth with Trump on Twitter after the GOP nominee attacked Clinton and Kaine, but no specific reference to them was offered. This is pretty similar to the tact from Democratic runner-up and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who hasn't said anything about the Kaine pick since it happened, instead tweeting about fracking, income inequality, campaign finance, and the minimum wage.

While he has attacked Trump's policies, he hasn't lauded Clinton's, and that's a distinction in tone and approach that could loom large ― both Sanders and Warren are slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week.

Make no mistake, though ― while there's still some drama about just how willing Sanders will be to throw his full, enthusiastic support behind Clinton, Warren is a safe bet to come through. She's been perhaps Clinton's most fiery and effective surrogate throughout this campaign season, and assuming it wasn't strictly an act to try to land on the ticket, she's going to end up being a strong backer for Clinton-Kaine.