Donut Shop Worker Refuses to Be on Camera with JD Vance During Campaign Stop

Gsus4@mander.xyz to politics @lemmy.world – 859 points –
Donut Shop Worker Refuses to Be on Camera with JD Vance During Campaign Stop
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Aren't you supposed to plan appearances like this ahead of time to prevent this exact thing from happening?

Plan? The only plan they got is project 2025. I don't think it spells out how to order donuts without acting weird.

Imagine ordering ANYTHING as vaguely as "some of this, some of that, whatever makes sense".

"Sir, that's not even a real order. I don't have time for your bullshit."

Reminds me of customers at the bank I used to work for who would want the teller to pick which account the money went into. Like bro, make an effort.

In his defense. And that’s the only time i will ever say that. The Dunkin Donuts around here will do a mixed dozen where the employee just puts 12 random flavors in the box. It’s possible he was expecting that.

The heritage foundation did serious planning.

Then they outsourced it to these guys, who didn't do shit.

Imagine being born in a position of privledge, and never being told "no" in your entire life. Why would you ever make a plan when you make the subconscious assumption that everyone operates around what you want?

On a related note, this is why "Woke" is so offensive to people like JD Vance. "We were doing just fine before you people started complaining!" is an easy thought to have from the lap of luxuryn

Why would you ever make a plan when you make the subconscious assumption that everyone operates around what you want?

Because their whole life has been geared toward allowing them to believe they are entitled to everything.

As always, calling others "entitled" was pure projection.

from my understanding (and thats making the whole situation even more baffling) he grew up in a ohioan blue-collar family, which means he probably heard "no" more then enough.

especially regarding the family couch.

They're all magas here were I work so it didn't work out as well, but our congressional rep planned a stop over here so I planned a day off. I wish more people would have done that, but I live in asshole land. :/

When I worked at a store that sold guns in 2016, supposedly there was a chance that a certain oddly-colored cheeto would be making a PR appearance after a speech in town.

I straight up told my manager if they actually think it's a real possibility then I will not be returning to work after my lunch break. I don't think for a second my threat actually made a difference, but I'd like to think my manager and district manager would take their ONLY trained tech for their most profitable services in 8 states and risk them leaving over a PR stunt they know will piss off half the people who shop there.

However when one of the red hats found out that the district manager called corporate to say it wasn't a good idea, they quit. Granted, nobody cared since it was their first week, but I know they were talking about being desperate for work they were qualified for that won't do a background check. So they quit over stupid shit when they apparently needed the money.

Logic is not strong with that crowd.

Planning is only as good as the planner. Sometimes you still end up giving a press conference at the wrong Four Seasons.

[insert "Four Seasons Total Landscaping" reference]

they're so full of themselves they cannot conceive of someone who doesn't want to comply with them and get a moment of fame on TV. that person denying to be on camera probably destroyed his mood for the whole day as he wondered what he did- "there's no way she hates me so much she doesn't want to be seen on TV next to me... I'm famous!"

This clip proved to me that couchfucker Vance is definitely not "from the middle class"

Hes obviously never ordered donuts himself. No clue what they are, expects to walk in and get handed a box of glazed donuts and a box of mixed donuts, while people are amazed and happy to have "someone like him" in the store.

I mean... if all you ever did was buy donuts at a supermarket, you kind of would expect that.

I don't buy a lot of donuts (personally not a big fan and they make for weird interactions at work) but when I do? My order is usually "Uh. Three or four boston creme, three or four jelly, and then whatever you have a lot of for the rest". And I have definitely done the Dunkin run where it is "a box o joe and then two dozen of whatever donuts. Also ."

So I won't fault couch fucker for having a hard time picking out donuts or basically just saying "I don't care, just give me two dozen donuts. Feel free to pick the stale ones". But it is more just the overall shitshow of it for not having someone run up ahead to make sure the store and staff were cool with it.

Story time! Back in... damn I guess it would have been 08? Obama and Biden were doing the "man of the people" bullshit. Incredibly blue region with strong ties to Biden so it was basically a freebie to record a few press bits. Was getting lunch and chatting with a buddy about all the cars on the street and the like when some 20-something year old girl in a suit comes in. She leans in and asks the person at the counter something and then comes around to the various tables to make small talk and ask leading but kind of inflammatory questions. She asked us what our views on abortion were (and, while I won't repeat what my buddy said because it was definitely sexist, it was quite possibly the greatest failed pick-up line of all time). She then gets up and states something like "In five minutes, Obama and Biden will be walking through that door. We apologize for the inconvenience. As we get closer, anyone who does not want to be on camera will be directed to move over towards that wall. It will only be for ten minutes and we will pay for everyone's meal, regardless of if you are on camera or not. Thank you".

And, let me tell you? Buying lunch for a bunch of students goes a long way toward making for a warm reception. And while it was obvious they had been prepped on the menu, it was also obvious that this was the kind of food both future presidents ate semi-regularly. And it was obvious they had been prepped on which tables were likely avid democrats, which were republicans, and which were dumbass kids who were hitting on the point person for the casual "So, what can we do to earn your vote?" style bits.

But... that is kind of the thing. It is not a complicated bit of theatre. I am sure the approach has changed a bit (now that everyone has camera phones and tiktok) but it still holds true. Have someone run ahead to make sure you aren't entering a hostile situation that will just make everyone look bad.


Everything blurs together and I am too lazy to google, but now I am wondering if that press event was specifically because everyone (of the republicans) were losing their god damned mind over the existence of a black man. Err, I mean Obama liking dijon mustard or something. So have him and his old white guy buddy eat some normal people food (because dijon mustard is insanely fancy, obviously).

I’m curious about these weird workplace donut interactions you’ve had.

Like I said, I am not a big fan of donuts. A lot of people aren't. But there is the expectation that everyone should bow down to the person who brought them to the breakroom and join the mad rush when the email goes out and so forth. Not to mention that some people DO like donuts (more power to them) and might be polite enough to ask if anyone minds if they take a second one which has led to a few slack chats of everyone feeling the need to list that they had 1 and so forth. Which invariably reveals who didn't have any and leads to "oh, are you on a diet"? level conversations that can make others feel self conscious about their weight.

Personally? I am a big fan of bringing a box to an early morning meeting or whatever. Absolutely hate bringing them to a breakroom or, for the truly deranged, walking them around an office.

Things have gotten a lot better in the past decade or so of "I don't eat gluten" becoming ridiculously common. But I find it still puts people into unnecessarily awkward situations where one person might think it is a nothingburger of an interaction and someone else might take it as "Are you saying I am fat and need to go on a diet?"

I'll be honest I think you're overthinking this

Think whatever you want.

This is the kind of stuff that comes up when you are actually focusing on inclusiveness and discrimination in the workplace (rather than just checking a box for a federal requirement). Something as simple as passing CVs through OCR and standardizing the font (or using those god awful webforms) goes a long way because people genuinely do have an unconscious bias toward one style over another. Similar to evaluating people on things like "poise" or "articulateness", that is just a REALLY good way to suddenly realize that you hired 90 of the same person.

And that also covers what kind of group activities you have at work. Because someone might seem "stand offish" because they don't participate in a monthly pizza lunch because they don't eat meat or just hate the chain the admin's cousin owns. But now you put them in a position where someone else might think they are standoffish or "too socially awkward to work in a team" which can have career implications.

I've never been at a workplace that banned these practices. Likely because... it is a shitshow waiting to happen if anyone ever sees that email and posts online about how Innertrode bans donuts. But it is something that management and project leads are increasingly being made aware of to both curb their own unconscious bias and to avoid creating those kinds of situations in the first place.

Well... Good thing I don't work in an office. I still think you are overthinking this. Bringing unconscious bias into this is clearly missing the mark. It's free donuts, not a pizza party.

People don't like working at an office. I know I didn't, and I'm so glad I don't anymore. It's a small thing that brings a few people just a little bit more joy, and not at the expense of others.

I hate your workplace.

Just err towards too many donuts the first time, and then adjust downward as needed. It's okay to throw out a few.

And then trust everyone else to be human. If one dude is taking five, someone will eventually give him a "dude, seriously?" and that should be enough. And if it's not, try to deal with it person to person instead of sending a passive aggressive email about it to two dozen people.

I kinda need to hear the terrible pickup line, though.

The anecdote of the recon girl in the suit is one of the most interesting that I've read in some time. Totally makes sense that they would do that.

How do folks feel about whether that low level of deceit is appropriate?

When I think about the costs, I think maybe a couple people spent a couple minutes of their time giving opinions they might not have if they had had all the information up front. But tiny hurt feelings seems the biggest downside, I guess, which shouldn’t be too problematic.

Of course if the staffer told the whole truth, an activist could feign support to secure an interaction where they shout down the candidate on their pet issue (“a TAN suit, Barrack?!”).

Personally, I don't see any deciet here.

Nobody claimed anything, someone just went around asking questions. Personally I wouldn't care if a red hat came into my Cafe and asked questions like that, and I would give my very strong opinions exactly as I would to anyone else. If they said a republican was about to come in for a PR stunt, I would ask to speak to the owner, and if they're actually cool with that the they have lost my business.

I still wouldn't feel like the person who came in was being in nay way subversive.

Honestly if I ran across one of their candidates alone in the middle of the night I might feel the urge to deck them whether I act on it or not, but that exact thing is the reason they should go without stating the reason for the questions and visit fist thing. What if someone were just psychotic and armed? They could quite easily pretend to be the world's largest supporter in order to get a seat at the next table over for a better shot, instead of the scout saying "that guy in the corner gave strange vibes, better put extra security over there or pass on this one"

Or someone might start throwing shoes...

Great point on safety. Was thinking kinda “lying through omission” but sold.

What an absolute weirdo. Choosing my (half-)dozen mixed donuts is one of the bigger joys of a donut run.

He's the guy in the suburbs with the "cowboy up" stickered lifted fuel tuned diesel on 38's that he's upside down on payments on because he spent this months trust fund payout on cocaine and ED pills.

We all know that guy.

The guy with knotted tires run half-baked because he only drives it on paved roads, the dirtiest it gets is when it rains, and the most it's ever hauled is a kids seat in the back. He was so close to buying a boat but always complains about gAs PrIcEs

I like how she asked not to be filmed and they filmed her anyway and then released it.

It really shows how much they care about a woman’s consent.

Could be even more sinister than that. Like if you think about it, why would they want to show that? It doesn't show anything positive about his campaign or engagement, so releasing that footage won't help him directly. But he is aware of how aggressive some of Trump's supporters can be with people they hate. So I wonder if he decided to post that part of the video specifically to trigger the MAGAs that would harass (or worse) the business and/or employees.

I think they're trying to lose so they can have a coup and not have to worry about losing ever again.

I don't know what the situation in the states is, but wouldn't she be allowed to sue him for this, because they disrespected their privacy?

She should. It's a "public" place, but it's not like she chose to be there at that moment because she knew Vance was going to be there. She has no other choice than to be there, per the terms of her contract.

It really shows how much they care about a woman’s consent.

I don't need consent from my TV in order to watch it.

Edit: Ran afoul of Poe's Law. "Surely no one would actually believe I was serious right?"
Internet: Gestures broadly

Are you comparing a living breathing woman who’s doing her job to your TV? Like, you do know you need consent to film in a private establishment, right?

I dropped the /s
The point being they consider women to be objects so why would they care about her consent?

Fair enough. I could definitely see a right wing fascist leaving that exact comment. It was very Matt Walshy. xD

To be fair, I don’t think Vance got consent from the couch either

This is why people say magapublicans are weird, they're so out of touch!

Has Vance never been in a bakery before!? Quick tip: when they ask you what you want, don't reply "I mean a lot of glazed here. Some sprinkle stuff. Some of these cinnamon rolls. Just whatever makes sense."

What??

Try ordering from the menu. Or ask them what's good. Or request an assortment of the most popular kinds...

Or lean into your stupid richness. Buy five of everything and just start handing them out.

Oh, no. The one thing rich people never want to do is give people handouts!

They'd claim they handed them out, but in reality only their team got one each, and the rest were thrown away (and sprinkled with poison to make sure they don't get pulled out of the dumpster)

I mean, I think he really did want to count out one each. I'm not sure the man has ever bought donuts in his life.

Rich people want their own handouts cause they deserve it unless those filthy plebs. Those plebs are only taking advantage of the system.

If I were trying to be fair, I'd argue that that basically was an attempt to order an assorted dozen, albeit an awkward one.

But fascists don't deserve fairness, so I won't.

I bet Walz stops at a donut shop tomorrow. I think he knows his way around one quite well.

This sounds awfully close to "Dijon mustard on a burger! How out of touch can you be!" Levels of ridiculousness.

“I mean a lot of glazed here. Some sprinkle stuff. Some of these cinnamon rolls. Just whatever makes sense.”

You gotta see it from their perspective, they're CEOs (presumably) and aren't used to knowing the details. They just vaguely point in vague directions ("pitch") and let the employees figure out the rest.

1 more...

"I'm JD Vance I'm running for vice president," Vance said. "Good to see you."

The employee sounds unmoved and replies with "okay" and waits for him to begin his order.

Does he expect people to get down on their knees after he tells them that?

"okay..."

silence

"I'm sorry but we don't have any couch shaped donuts"

"Oh we're prepared for this! One moment please!"

Call to the back: "Guys, we need the plastic cover for the couch, it's a code V!"

"I'm sorry, our couch donuts aren't glazed."

JD Vance, tugging on his suddenly sweaty shirt collar: "Oh I think I can help out there."

"I'm sorry, our couch donuts aren't glazed."

That's ok. He prefers to do that part himself.

The "Please Clap" energy was intense nostalgic.

The "OK" crushed him. He was expecting any reaction and she could give 2 shits about him. Order your donuts and get the fuck out, ain't nobody got time for your ass.

Imagine if she had a zinger loaded. "Yeah, you're the running mate for 'America's Hitler.'"

Actually they probably got a bunch of reactions like that and "ok" was the one person that put him in the best light.

Simplicity is better in most cases. When someone has to tell you who they are and you respond "ok". That is brutal. You are literally saying I don't give a fuck

He must not have anyone competent on his staff if this happens. Usually they send people ahead to check to see if the people working there want to be on camera and talk

Maybe they did and this was the most acceptable place. I imagine most decent restaurants have rules about fornicating with the furniture, so it really limits your options when you are a known couch fucker.

If he had competent staff they would have stopped him from being Trump's running mate.

To be fair he’s the Heritage Foundation’s guy to make sure that a Trump Administration actually gets Project 2025 work done. I forget what position he previously held with the Heritage Foundation but its pretty dang obvious that’s the whole point of selecting him for Trump’s VP

Heritage Foundation people were woven throughout the previous admin and the Supreme Court, and would be in a second admin, but vance is there as peter thiel's lapdog and surrogate. He's there to make sure that private equity and certain tech figures (like musk) are protected and taken care of. Thiel is also good friends with Ann coulter to the point that she dedicated a book to him (which should LOUDLY tell you something).

"One dozen glazed, one dozen assorted".

It's not that hard, damn.

And props to the employee refusing to be used as a prop for this couch molester.

not the focus of ths video but along with many appearances, I've never heard him laugh like a human being.

are you fucking kidding me, making fun of Harris laughing when this guy's mouth does what i can only assume is an arcane incantation meant to awaken elder horrors from their timeless slumber?

Isn't it weird the Republican nominees don't laugh like most people?I haven't watched much of Vance to notice this but since they're ragging on Harris for laughing I bet that's a big bullet point to avoid when he's in public.

Emotions are difficult for them outside of fear and anger over “everything wrong with this country”. They don’t like public display of emotion, as evidenced by their sharp criticism of Walz’ son Gus crying at the convention. They do seem pretty happy to inflict suffering where they can.

I actually don't think I've seen Vance express what seemed to be one single genuine emotion. Even his "anger" feels and sounds manufactured. The one time I felt anything genuine from him was when he was telling the story about how he told his son to shut the hell up about pokemon

Isn't it weird the Republican nominees don't laugh like most people?

It's because they're sociopaths, but not the well adjusted kind that can blend into society.

More than 50% of republicans have begun an address to a crowd/reporter with, "Look, we all kill dogs sometimes..."

Has tRump ever laughed? I can't recall ever seeing a clip of him laughing. I bet when he does, it's to something horrible happening to women & children

something horrible happening to women & children

The closest I've seen to genuine happiness is the video of him laughing with Jeffrey Epstein, so yeah, that checks out.

He punches down in his 'jokes', and laughs at other people's misery rather than when it's in good humour. How anyone can vote for a politician that can't laugh at themselves let alone a good joke is a mystery to me.

have you seen him at his roast? he was not liking it.

If angels existed, they would each and every one weep tears of joy when she said, “…okay.”

We need a Tim Walz donut shop clip with the consent of all the employees being filmed

Tim Walz buying individual donuts for each customer and his entourage with him engaging with everyone.

"we got consent from all the people in the video."

"That lady clearly did not consent."

"we got consent from all the people in the video."

The only thing he could make conversation about was how old the business was and how long they worked at the donut shop. Aren't politicians supposed to be charismatic?

Like he was figuring out who he could get fired afterwards for not worshipping him.

He didn't even ask them what their favorite donut was or about [local sports team] newest season. Pandering isn't hard, why is he so lazy?

What would you recommend? What are some popular donuts? Hell, he could've said to give him a good variety.

Vance is the embodiment of cringe. He’s been hanging out in Silicon Valley with Peter Thiel for so long that he’s forgotten how to even pretend to be a normal person.

Wow, what a charismatic guy, that wasn't painful to watch at all...

Totally normal small talk, "how long you worked here? How long has this place been open? How about you how long have you worked here? Yeah? Good. How long? Good."

Don’t ask if anyone’s ever tried fucking the donuts. Don’t ask if anyone’s ever tried fucking the donuts.

"Hasanyoneevertriedfuckingthedonuts??"

"Uhhh... Let's try this again, Vance. This time, maybe just ask people a simple question. Like, 'how long have you worked here?' Or, 'how long has this place been open?'

"I don't want to be on film." Is put on film.

Exactly! Don't turn off the cameras, just audibly proclaim the footage will be edited not to include her.

...So anyway, here's the footage including her

How long have you worked here?

How long have you worked here?

How long have you worked here?

How long has this place been here?

Some great questions there, JD.

Okay - good.

Not a single follow-up or explanation why he's asking, either. He's really building a rapport and drumming up enthusiasm with those interactions.

I can’t be bothered to watch that shit, but based on the comments here dude sounds like a robot.

A robot would have been less awkward. You don't need to subject yourself to it.

I don't understand. She's clearly still on film, and not cut out. I can see her right there.

Who cares about respecting consent when there are news articles to manufacture and profit from?

In that first video she's clearly visible. But if you watch the others that were retweeted (re-xed?), her face is blurred out. I too don't understand it but there it is.

lol donut runs aren’t going to humanize these ghouls when their policies are hostile to life 💀

It's not a fun donut & chocolate milk on a lazy Sunday morning vibe but more a corporate quarterly meeting vibe.

"I'm JD Vance I'm running for vice president"

I'm sure in EVERY conversation he says that line.

I love how the employee says "okay". Though a better response would have been a sigh and then a very underwhelming "I know".

That was my favorite part.

Another alternative I'll never forget, delivered by my BA co-worker before business hours after someone waltzed in:

RudePerson: "Hi, I'm the owner of the complex across the street, a-

Joe cool: congratulations!

This got me. Running against who? lmao "I'm the Republican VP" saying he's "running for VP" makes it sound like there's a field of candidates.

Her asking to not be shown shows Vances team didn't set this photoshoot up properly. Like if you had called ahead you would have gotten the people who were (more likely to be) all smiles and wanted to be on camera and had engaged the conversation to look good for an op. Instead like most of these shit heels they just show up in the fucking store with 30 fucking people unannounced, and order untold amounts of food the put the drive through and other in-house orders into lockup for an hour so we can finish this one $185 order because shitfuck in charge couldn't be bothered to call ahead and say "hey we're bringing a bunch of people - like 15-20. We'll be there in 10 minutes, also we're doing a public outreach recording if you have a policy around which staff you want present for that"

But no they just walk in, make conversation holding up lines and get staff who don't want to be on camera answering their order.

Her asking to not be shown shows Vances team didn't set this photoshoot up properly.

And yet they still released the video!

They might be worried that that would risk him having to face someone who is really prepared to confront him.

It was all salvageable up to that point, then it became a catastrophe.

No cream filled please. Filling soft cushions is my favorite part!

I'd be uncomfortable around him too. I mean I've got couches at home to think about.

And watch the MAGA death threats begin because the donut shop didn't kiss JDs feet when he walked in

I think it would be very interesting to see how they’d react if maga issuing the death threats started getting anonymous death threats themselves.

Just watch, they're gonna start sending JD Vance sperm samples to the donut shop as retribution

Oh my that "okay.." was perfect. You could tell it tripped him up hard mentally. He had to resort to asking the same question to everyone there. "How long have you worked here? How long have you worked here? How long have you worked here?"

Priceless.

This reminds me of when Australian PM, Scotty from Marketing went to inspect the damage after enormous bush fires after being shamed in to cutting his holiday in Hawaii short while his country was on fire.

https://youtu.be/kePvZkV-Zcs?si=pJg-h8HQA4LvEgt1

Remember when Trump went to Puerto Rico after a 175mph, Cat 5 hurricane and literally threw paper towel rolls at people?

I seem to remember during covid he went on trips too.

When he was kicked out of being pm, he refused to resign too

Tony Abbott was a huge wanker, but at least he volunteers. I'm not sure what good Scotty does (at least he's not an abusive ass I guess like Trump, so there is at least that..)

That was marvelously uncomfortable.

I wanna see Tim Walz do this exact activity... Even better if it was at the same donut place.

Then, when they share it, maybe highlight the weird from the normal? Like a football play by play?

Right wing nut jobs cosplaying as human is always cringe. We have pierre poilievre up in Canada every public appearance is a cringe fest. #RightWingCringe #jd(couchfucker)vance #Canada #SquintyMcProudBoy

I couldn't finish the full clip. Sooooo awkward.

"JD Vance order a donut challenge: (Level impossible)"

I laughed a little at that.

Good for that worker. I never want to be on camera for any reason and would be hiding in the back if this happened to me.

Here, another interaction from someone who is so deeply flawed I wonder if he can even understand how pathetic he truly is. People are pretty good at being able to tell when someone is genuine, or of integrity. This guy has it in clovers (as in, not spades).

He's going to be so relieved when this is all over, and he can go back to simply being the weirdest person in local government, instead of being one of the most visible weirdos on the planet, with all of us catching strays from second hand cringe.

I don't think he can ever go back. Anyone who knows who he is will have the couch fucker stuff at least on the back of their mind, if not on the tip of their tongue. He might not even have a local politician career to return to, especially because Trump will likely scapegoat him if/when he loses.

So how long have you been in this thread, OP?

...

.....

Uhh, I don't work here sir, I just eat the donuts 😐

Okay. Yes.

And you, poster below my comment, how long have you been in this thread?

Every donut shop has a standard dozen they'll sell you if you don't want to decide. Not that I'd expect man of the people JD Vance to know that.

What an opportunity to hand him a couch shaped donut. And noone took it.

"So... How long have you been a couch?"

Anyone else unable to get the video to play?

haha, it played yesterday, maybe it was taken down :D But it's still on youtube at least

I had to go to Twitter to get it to play. It's definitely awkward but maybe not a awkward as represented in the article. The employees are just trying to do their job and maybe put off by all the cameras.

Lawsuit?

No, they blurred her out in the video, and it's likely she didn't even know who he was and just has that as a blanket rule.

Blurred? She's not blurred on Twitter at all. Click the original Twitter post. Him saying they should edit her out and her being in the post anyway feels rather dizzying.

Oh, the video I saw (reposted by someone) had her blurred, I guess whomever reposted it did that. That's just even more of a fail.

If she didn't know it was vance, it's likely she just immediately knew he was a creep with a fucked up haircut and weird energy.

Also, regular folks don't typically have "blanket rules" on their press interaction? Real "of the people" take yourself there, jd.