Workers at a Middletown, Ohio doughnut shop said Vice President JD Vance unexpectedly invited three of them to attend his nearby rally after stopping by his hometown business. The visit became a personal moment for the employees, while the rally highlighted planned investment in a local steelworks with longstanding ties to Vance’s family and the community.

Vance ordered the shop’s signature misshapen glazed “ugly” doughnut and called its products the best in the world before taking photographs with staff. Crystaliz Portalatin, Ursula Bush and Jennifer Coby travelled in his motorcade to the Cleveland-Cliffs mill, where Vance discussed a $500 million federal grant alongside a further $500 million company investment; the Department of Energy estimates the project will create 2,300 jobs.