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Video: JD Vance struggles with small talk in awkward donut shop visit

“I’m JD Vance. I’m running for vice president,” he said. "Ok," a server replied, asking not to be filmed

News Fellow

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Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) addresses the audience at a campaign rally on August 20, 2024 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)
Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) addresses the audience at a campaign rally on August 20, 2024 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)

A donut shop employee, in Georgia, did not want to be seen on video with Sen. J.D.Vance, R-Ohio, when Donald Trump’s running mate visited the spot equipped with a camera crew before his remarks in Valdosta, Georgia.

The GOP vice presidential candidate has struggled to shake the “weird” label his political opponent, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, coined early in the race, and the awkward interaction between him and the server isn’t likely to do him any favors.

Vance, who waited for someone to show up behind the display to serve him, opened his interaction with the servers joking the  "zoo has come to town." The employee’s only reaction was asking not to be filmed. 

He tried again. 

“I’m JD Vance. I’m running for vice president,” Vance said to which he received a plain response from the donut shop server: “Okay.”

Trying to remedy the interaction, Vance’s arms remained promptly glued to his hips as he walked up and down the display examining his donut options before saying “We’re gonna do two dozen. Just a random assortment of stuff here.” 

“Everything. A lot of glazed here. Sprinkle stuff. A lot of cinnamon rolls. Just whatever makes sense,” he added.

By Nandika Chatterjee

Nandika Chatterjee is a News Fellow at Salon. In 2022 she moved to New York after graduating from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where she pursued a B.A. in Communication and a B.S. in Psychology. She is currently an M.A. in Journalism candidate at NYU, pursuing the Magazine and Digital Storytelling program, and was previously an Editorial Fellow at Adweek.


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