Sen. Mark Warner said Congress should approve more money to help people displaced by the trade deal with Pacific nations, known as Trade Adjustment Assistance. | Getty Virginia's other Democratic senator defends TPP

PHILADELPHIA — Virginia’s most powerful Democrats are all over the place on the divisive Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe thinks — or hopes — Hillary Clinton will work to pass a tweaked Trans-Pacific Partnership. Clinton’s running mate and Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine is now opposed to TPP, after generally praising it this year. And Sen. Mark Warner said in an interview here Wednesday morning that he still supports it, with reservations, offering advice for how the dwindling number of pro-trade Democrats can soothe concerns about the pact.


“I supported granting the president trade authority. I support TPP. But I think we need to recognize that there’s going to be a lot more support for communities that have been adversely affected by trade and we need to do a lot better on trade enforcement,” Warner said. He called Britain's vote last month to exit the European Union a “wake-up call” for how voters view global trade.

TPP is the brightest flash point between Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters at the Democratic National Convention this week. “No TPP” signs are everywhere. But Warner, a centrist and self-described “pro-trade Democrat,” is not backing away from TPP despite Kaine’s flip and the clear movement against massive trade deals among members of the party’s base.

Warner said Congress should approve more money to help people displaced by the trade deal with Pacific nations, known as Trade Adjustment Assistance. He suggested a much broader outreach program for pro-trade Democrats to stay on the right side of voters.

“TPP is going to add $800 billion to $1 trillion to the economy; we need to do a lot more than the measly $4.5 billion for those who we have left behind,” Warner said. "Think about that: That’s less than half of 1 percent of the value being added to the economy."

The centrist Virginian refused to respond to McAuliffe’s comments on Tuesday night asserting that Clinton would push a revised TPP through Congress. The comments played into liberals’ worst fears that Clinton is running as an anti-TPP Democrat but would govern far differently.

“I’m not going to comment on Gov. McAuliffe's comments. What I will tell you is I’ve been a strong advocate for trade,” Warner said. “Those of us who advocate for trade need to acknowledge there’s been too many of us left behind.”