'Actions of an Idiot': Tim Kaine Fires Back at Donald Trump in 'Late Show' Debut

— -- In an interview on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine joked about being "America’s stepdad” but also got serious discussing Donald Trump’s immigration stance and the GOP nominee calling Hillary Clinton a “bigot.”

Kaine’s appearance on "The Late Show" airs tonight on CBS. It is his first appearance on a late-night talk show as a vice presidential candidate. He previously appeared on "The Daily Show" in 2010.

When asked by Colbert about Trump’s immigration pivot, Kaine offered up some harsh words for the GOP nominee in Spanish.

"I don't buy it," he said, switching to Spanish and adding, "He’s always fighting against the Latin community with words of ill will and the actions of an idiot."

Trump made headlines this week when he appeared to be softening his immigration stance in a town hall that aired on Fox News. Today, he told CNN that there would be no path to legalization for undocumented immigrants, but it remains unclear if he plans to deport all of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States if he is elected.

Kaine, a fluent Spanish speaker, gave most of his response on Trump’s immigration stance in Spanish. After giving his response, Colbert asked, “What is the Spanish word for pander?”

Kaine joked the word doesn’t exist in Spanish and said it’s unique to the American political system.

Kaine also defended his running mate against Trump’s remark that she is a “bigot who only sees people of color as votes.” Trump made the remark in Mississippi yesterday.

"When Hillary Clinton got out of law school, she was working to help advance racial justice and the juvenile justice system in South Carolina and fight school segregation in Alabama. And I about that time got out of law school and was battling housing discrimination in the South and in Virginia.

"At his early career, Donald Trump was a real estate guy who got sued by the Justice Department for discriminating against people in housing. ... Hillary Clinton has got a track record all the way back to being a middle-schooler in a Methodist youth group of trying to advance priorities for others and Donald Trump is for himself,” Kaine said.

Colbert mocked Trump’s attacks on Clinton’s health by asking Kaine, "Is she OK? Can she sit up on her own power?”

"I think she could beat me in the New York Marathon if we entered, but we may not do that because there’s a campaign going on,” Kaine said.

While Kaine proved he can be an attack dog defending the Democratic nominee, he also drew some laughs. Kaine told Colbert about getting the call from Clinton to be her running mate and described Clinton as telling him, “You’re about to get kidnapped.”

When asked to describe what being "kidnapped" by the campaign is like, Kaine compared it to "that scene at the end of 'E.T.' where they go back up to a big spaceship.”

“Here’s such a just such a huge operation, a presidential campaign that’s been going for 20 months. It’s just massive,” Kaine added. “The next stretch from here to November, it’s going to be super intense but if you got to be on a presidential campaign, just joining the last 95 days, you get to skip all the really hard work. I mean I look at Hillary Clinton and what she’s had to do for all these months and the length of these days, I mean it is just hard, hard work.”

Since joining the Democratic presidential ticket, Kaine has been at the receiving end of a lot of dad jokes, even spawning Twitter accounts devoted to the way Kaine reminds people of their dads and stepdads.

Colbert got Kaine and the audience laughing by reading some tweets. Colbert asked Kaine if he was "OK with not being cool.”

"I was. 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,” Kaine said.