Last week, Democrats and their media allies seized on a viral video of GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) during an awkward encounter with employees at a donut shop in Valdosta, Georgia.
In a recent interview, Vance expressed regret for the situation, acknowledging that he “felt terrible” for an employee who was caught off guard by his unannounced visit and didn’t want to be filmed.
According to Business Insider, the Senator tried to engage in small talk with the shop’s hesitant workers while they prepared his order of assorted donuts.
However, the incident drew widespread online mockery and criticism. Vance, who is running alongside former President Donald Trump, faced backlash for how the situation unfolded.
On Tuesday, a reporter from NBC News conducted an interview with Senator Vance aboard his campaign plane.
The discussion covered a range of topics, including the “awkward” viral incident at a Georgia donut shop last week, where a staff member requested not to be filmed after being caught off guard by Vance’s unexpected arrival with his entourage.
JD Vance buys donuts in Holt’s Sweet Shop in Valdosta Georgia pic.twitter.com/xOO2j3AoRf
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) August 22, 2024
“I just felt terrible for that woman,” Vance explained. “We walked in, and there’s 20 Secret Service agents, and there’s 15 cameras, and she clearly had not been properly warned, and she was terrified, right? I just felt awful for her.”
He went on to say that while he enjoys “retail politicking” and interacting with working-class Americans, the GOP VP nominee noted that he advised his staff to more carefully plan such encounters ahead of time, albeit without being too overly produced and “scripted,” as some of Vice President Kamala Harris’ moments have been.
“We don’t want to have these scripted events — I don’t want to go and do three takes of buying Doritos at a Sheetz,” Vance said of a recent Harris visit to a Pennsylvania convenience store. “I like to get out there and talk to people, and we want to make sure we’re doing it but definitely make sure that people are at least OK with being on camera, or we’re going to walk in and you’re going to have a person who has, practically, a panic attack because she’s got 15 cameras in her face.”
As per the NBC News report, Senator Vance visited an A&W restaurant during his campaign in Michigan on Tuesday and experienced a markedly contrasting interaction with the public compared to his recent visit to a donut shop in Georgia.
At the A&W, Vance “served a round of root beer floats on a shaded patio, posed for selfies, and held a baby,” per the reporter.
The senator’s mother, Beverly Aikins, who accompanied her son on the campaign swing through Michigan, said to the reporter while Vance mingled with the crowd at the restaurant, “I just want everybody to know him like I know him. He’s an amazing human being, and he really, truly thinks he can make a difference.”
Senator Vance also spoke to an NBC News reporter about his forthcoming October 1 debate with the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
He mentioned that he had not yet selected a surrogate to stand in for his opponent during practice debates.
“The thing that I try to do, whether it’s at a rally or a press conference or a policy speech or whatever, is I just try to understand the details pretty well, because I think if you understand the details pretty well, then you actually can form your own views,” he explained.
Vance added, “This sort of stuff has to happen organically. So I think it would be a huge mistake to try to over-script or overprepare.”
