Ohio Sen. JD Vance surely put the “cringe” in “cringey” after an exchange between him and Georgia donut shop workers has now gone viral.
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With Georgia being a crucial battleground state, it’s no shock that former President Donald Trump and his running mate would be spending a lot of time in the dirty south. But Vance’s most recent attempt at a pleasant on-camera moment in the Peach State quickly turned into the most awkward viral clip of the year.
On Thursday, Vance and his crew of cameramen pulled up to get some donuts from Valdosta’s own Holt’s Sweet Shop, and boy were the cameras rolling.
Vance began talking with one donut shop worker who asked not to be filmed. “She doesn’t want to be on film guys, so just cut her out of anything,” Vance said with a smile. “I appreciate that ma’am.”
He went on to formally introduce himself to the worker saying, “I’m JD Vance. I’m running for vice president.” But the woman wasn’t impressed at all. She responded dryly with “okay” before continuing her work.
The awkward exchange wasted no time drawing criticism from viewers on X. User @aaronregunberg called Vance’s cringey donut shop appearance “very funny” seen as though the senator prides himself on being “the ultimate narrator of the forgotten working class.”
The senator went on to order some donuts for his crew, but it seemed like he didn’t know exactly how to do it. Vance told the workers “a lot of glazed,” “some sprinkle stuff,” and cinnamon rolls. “Just whatever makes sense,” Vance continued.
Many took to X to call out the senator for the weird way he goes about ordering donuts. Maybe all the cameras made him nervous, but one X user @mikescollins wrote Vance “orders donuts like he’s wearing a wire.”
With all eyes— and cameras— on him, Vance continued with the small talk, asking each worker how long they’ve been at the establishment. When they answered “since the beginning of July” and “almost two years,” Vance responded, “okay, good,” being sure to never lose that weird smile of his.
Overall, Vance’s attempt to connect to everyday Americans fell flat as he collected his donuts and left the shop. The senator, who has been criticized for past insensitive comments about women and for negatively impacting Trump’s polling percentages, continues to struggle with being likable and relatable despite his claims to be so.
Vance’s awkward photo-op also comes after talk show host Elisabeth Hasselbeck criticized Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Minn. Gov. Tim Walz for stopping at a gas station to get some Doritos. On air, Hasselbeck said “That’s the commander-in-chief, potentially, that’s the emotional response of the leader of the free world is to binge-eat a bag of Doritos? Are you kidding me?”
We wonder what Hasselbeck has to say now about Vance’s fake attempt to relate to Georgians ahead of the Nov. election. In a battle with Harris and Walz to be relatable, Vance clearly lost. Next time, the senator should probably come prepared with a normal donut order to avoid all the confusion.
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