Democrats and their media allies had a field day last week with a viral video clip of Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), the GOP vice presidential nominee, having an "awkward" encounter with employees during a visit to a donut shop in Valdosta, Georgia.

In an interview this week, Vance confessed that he "felt terrible" for an employee who didn't want to be on camera and was caught by surprise with the unannounced visit of the senator and his large entourage, according to Business Insider.

Vance, the running mate of former President Donald Trump, had attempted to make small talk with the shop's reluctant workers while they filled his order for assorted donuts but was ruthlessly mocked and criticized online for how the incident played out.

"I just felt terrible for that woman"

On Tuesday, an NBC News reporter interviewed Sen. Vance while onboard his campaign plane and, among a variety of topics, discussed the "awkward" viral moment in the Georgia donut shop last week, during which a worker asked not to be on camera after she was surprised by the entrance of Vance and everybody accompanying him.

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."

Less awkward encounter at an A&W restaurant

According to the NBC News report, Sen. Vance stopped at an A&W restaurant while campaigning in Michigan on Tuesday and had a much different encounter with the public than his visit to the donut shop in Georgia last week.

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."

Doesn't want to "over-script or overprepare" for VP debate against Walz

Sen. Vance also discussed with the NBC News reporter his upcoming October 1 debate against the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and noted that he had not yet picked a stand-in for his opponent for 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."