--- title: Tim Kaine: Watch Him on the Tyler Oakley Show description: Tim Kaine doesn't just want to be America's dad, he appeared on the Tyler Oakley show to prove he's America's cool dad canonical: https://time.com/4525641/tim-kaine-hillary-clinton-tyler-oakley/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-10T20:10:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:17.257Z article:section: Politics og:title: Tim Kaine Wants You to Know He's America's Cool Dad og:description: Tim Kaine doesn't just want to be America's dad, he appeared on the Tyler Oakley show to prove he's America's cool dad og:url: https://time.com/4525641/tim-kaine-hillary-clinton-tyler-oakley/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f3204d97c8fd285/6988a973428a9edd30cd4944/gettyimages-612689050.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4431 og:image:height: 2492 og:image:alt: Vice Presidential Debate Between Gov. Mike Pence And Sen. Tim Kaine og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Tim Kaine Wants You to Know He's America's Cool Dad twitter:description: Tim Kaine doesn't just want to be America's dad, he appeared on the Tyler Oakley show to prove he's America's cool dad twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f3204d97c8fd285/6988a973428a9edd30cd4944/gettyimages-612689050.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Tim Kaine Wants You to Know He's America's Cool Dad > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a892ca45-4b18-4ff3-8e88-8c0b6bcf5e87&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Oct 10, 2016 8:10 PM UTC  Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine at the Vice Presidential Debate October 4 Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine at the Vice Presidential Debate October 4 Win McNamee—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Oct 10, 2016 8:10 PM UTC Vice-presidential hopeful Tim Kaine appeared on the _Tyler Oakley Show_ on Monday to prove he’s [not just America’s dad](https://www.buzzfeed.com/salvadorhernandez/twitter-has-decided-tim-kaine-is-a-walking-dad-joke). He’s America’s cool dad. “I didn’t even know dad jokes were a thing,” Sen. Kaine told the 27-year-old host, who noted that’s probably the most dad thing he could have said. As the nation has grown familiar with Hillary Clinton’s running mate, Kaine has become known as the kind of guy who’d sit you down for an age-appropriate talk about the birds and the bees and making good choices. But in what appears to be a Clinton campaign effort to connect with younger voters, he appeared on Oakley’s show, which airs weekly on Ellen Degeneres’ video platform and YouTube, to prove he’s hip to what keeps the kids glued to their smartphones. In the four-minute video, Kaine tried to make his case to younger voters, first by going the traditional route and ticking off policy positions held by the Clinton campaign including those on climate change, LGBT rights, and women’s health. With that out of the way, Oakley cut to the chase. “Do you know what on fleek means? ” he asked. Turned out neither Kaine nor Oakley were all that sure, though Kaine was later able to redeem himself with the young host by appropriately accenting the “as” in “yas.” By the end, Kaine started showing off, tossing out a smug “Bye Felicia” before calling up Oakley’s mom to in an attempt to get her to vote. Though Kaine solidly flirts with millennial culture in the four-minute video, he explained to Oakley he has no problem being known as America’s dad. “In politics, it can be pretty tough so if that’s the worst they can say about you,” he said. “That’s affectionate, so I like it.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4525641/tim-kaine-hillary-clinton-tyler-oakley/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4525641/tim-kaine-hillary-clinton-tyler-oakley/"},"headline":"Tim Kaine Wants You to Know He's America's Cool Dad","datePublished":"2016-10-10T20:10:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:48:17.257Z","description":"Right, Tyler Oakley?","url":"https://time.com/4525641/tim-kaine-hillary-clinton-tyler-oakley/","keywords":["2016 Election","Millennials","2016 Election","Tim Kaine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f3204d97c8fd285/6988a973428a9edd30cd4944/gettyimages-612689050.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f3204d97c8fd285/6988a973428a9edd30cd4944/gettyimages-612689050.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vice Presidential Debate Between Gov. 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