--- description: "I’ve been prepared for that for 26 years," Tim Kaine told Stephen Colbert of people saying he acts like a nerdy dad. title: Tim Kaine Talks to Stephen Colbert About Being America's Stepdad image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tim Kaine](/tag/tim-kaine/) ## Tim Kaine Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tim Kaine Tells Stephen Colbert He's Totally Fine with Being 'America's Stepdad'  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 26, 2016 11:38 AM CUT  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 26, 2016 11:38 AM CUT Tim Kaine wants America to know that he’s totally OK with being considered the nation’s nerdy stepdad. On _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_ Thursday night, the host asked Kaine if he was aware of the dad jokes made after his [Democratic convention appearance](http://time.com/4427804/dnc-tim-kaine-donald-trump-undercut/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"). “Tim Kaine is making earnest dads everywhere proud,” Colbert read off a tweet. “Tim Kaine will be driving you TO and FROM the prom, mister,” said another. Kaine responded exactly as America’s good-natured stepdad would. “I’ve been prepared for that for 26 years, because I have three children who have been ripping on me and saying those things about me since they were born,” the vice presidential candidate said. (This wasn’t the first time Colbert’s show referenced Kaine’s fatherly qualities: _Last Week Tonight_ host John Oliver appeared with Colbert at the end of July and [said of Kaine](http://time.com/4428443/john-oliver-stephen-colbert-tim-kaine-gilmore-girls/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), “The level of dad jokes and impressions that came out of that man’s soft face. He is a tall glass of Lactaid.”) Kaine also told Colbert that he knew [Hillary Clinton had picked him as her running mate](http://time.com/4419165/hillary-clinton-tim-kaine-vice-president-running-mate/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") just 12 minutes before the rest of the country found out. “I had to race, called my wife, called our kids, called my parents,” Kaine said of what he did as soon as he found out. **Read Next:** [_Watch Vice Presidential Nominee Tim Kaine Dominate in a Spelling Bee_](http://time.com/4429173/tim-kaine-spelling-bee-press-club/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4468126/tim-kaine-stephen-colbert-late-show-stepdad/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4468126/tim-kaine-stephen-colbert-late-show-stepdad/"},"headline":"Tim Kaine Tells Stephen Colbert He's Totally Fine with Being 'America's Stepdad'","datePublished":"2016-08-26T11:38:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:13:19.473Z","description":"Hillary Clinton's running mate says he has been \"prepared for that for 26 years\"","url":"https://time.com/4468126/tim-kaine-stephen-colbert-late-show-stepdad/","keywords":["Tim Kaine","Television","stephen colbert"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/tim-kaine/","name":"Tim Kaine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4468126/tim-kaine-stephen-colbert-late-show-stepdad/","name":"Tim Kaine Tells Stephen Colbert He's Totally Fine with Being 'America's Stepdad'"}}]}] ```