Senator JD Vance was mocked after a video circulated online showing him at a Georgia doughnut shop on Thursday.
On Thursday, Vance visited Holt’s Sweet Shop in Valdosta, Georgia, a key swing state that Republicans hope will defect to Trump after he narrowly voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. He faced a wave of ridicule over the video, with critics calling the visit “embarrassing.” The campaign visit comes as Vance’s popularity with voters continues to be a sticking point for the Trump campaign.
Vance, a Republican from Ohio, is former President Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Since the 2022 election, he has been considered a staunch social conservative and close ally of the former president. However, his stance on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights has sparked fierce backlash from Democrats.
Vance has struggled in the polls since Trump named him his running mate, but recent polls show a neck-and-neck race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
FiveThirtyEight’s popularity polls showed Vance’s unfavorable opinion at 43.2 percent and his favorable opinion at 33.2 percent on Thursday. Vance said this week at a campaign event in Philadelphia that he doesn’t believe those polls.
In video footage from the campaign stop, Vance is seen talking to an aide who says the “zoo is run down” before asking his staff how many doughnuts he should order. The aide then asked not to be filmed at work.
“She doesn’t want to be filmed, guys, so just take her out of everything,” he said. “I appreciate that, ma’am.”
He then introduced himself to the employee: “I am JD Vance and I am running for Vice President.”
“Okay,” she replied. Vance continued chatting with the employees behind the counter.
A video of his visit quickly spread on social media, sparking a wave of jokes on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“JD Vance had a very unpleasant visit to a doughnut shop in Georgia earlier today. Trust us, it’s worse than you think,” posted the left-leaning news portal Meidas Touch, whose video of the encounter has been viewed more than a million times.
“‘I’m JD Vance…I’m running for Vice President’…the woman has no idea who he is and is just trying to do her job,” wrote X-user @WUTangKids. “These idiots went to the wrong donut shop for their stupid photo shoot.”
“I don’t think my face will ever be calm again after watching this film,” wrote journalist Aaron Rupar.
“Has JD Vance ever bought donuts? He has no idea how to talk to people. And the very smart lady behind the counter who clearly doesn’t give a damn about Vance said she did NOT want to be on camera,” wrote X-user Polly Sigh.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump team via email and asked for comment.
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