Screenshot via CSPAN

CNN presenter and stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell believes the vice presidential candidate and Senator from Ohio. JD Vance should fire everyone involved in his embarrassing donut shop photo op.

Vance visited Holt’s Sweet Shot in Valdosta, Georgia on Thursday before heading to Donald Trump’s Campaign headquarters in the city. The clip was heavily criticized on social media due to the awkward interactions between Vance and the staff. They also specifically asked not to be filmed, which made filming even more complicated.

Hours later, Bell — the host of the CNN documentary series United Shades of America – explained why he thought the situation was reason enough to come clean.

“Fire your entire team,” Bell tweeted Thursday night. “They obviously hate you. This is TV production 101 and they failed.”

“Someone has to look ahead and make sure everyone there is interested in being on camera AND excited to talk to you. And if your team finds out that no one there is interested in talking to you, and some don’t even want to be on camera with you – situations you’ve probably gotten used to by now – then your team has to find another location.”

I know I’m a weird person when I give advice, but I really mean this to be helpful, @JDVance.

Fire your whole team. They obviously hate you. This is TV production 101 and they failed.

1) Someone should look ahead and make sure that everyone there is interested in… pic.twitter.com/xolsT50xgy

— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) 23 August 2024

Bell then insisted that someone should have prepared Vance for small talk because, in his own words, the senator was “terrible” at it.

“Someone needs to prime you with names and topics of conversation,” Bell continued. “This is especially true because, as you know, you’re a terrible small talker. Even your team must know that by now. Your team needs to ask you follow-up questions to get you ready. ‘What’s your best doughnut?’ ‘What’s your favorite doughnut?’ ‘What do you recommend?’ ‘What’s your favorite thing about your job?’ ‘Do you eat too many doughnuts because you work here?’ These are very simple things. But I also understand that you have an extremely difficult time talking to people. That’s why you need a better team.”

Do you have a tip we should know? [email protected]