Vice President JD Vance surprised employees at Central Pastry Shop in Middletown, Ohio, last Friday by inviting them to his rally at a nearby steel mill. Crystaliz Portalatin, 28, and Ursula Bush, 53, described the unexpected turn of events, which included a ride in Vance's motorcade.
Portalatin told Fox News Digital that she had hoped Vance would visit the shop, where he is a regular.
"We knew he was going to come into Middletown, so we assumed he was going to stop by the shop," Portalatin said. "That morning, I was praying and I was like, 'You know, it'd be nice for him to stop by, we can take a picture and talk to him.'"
Vance greeted the shop's owner and ordered the shop's signature "ugly" glazed donut, which he called "the best donuts in the world."
After posing for photos with staff, Vance extended an invitation to Portalatin when she expressed interest in hearing his speech. "I would like to see the speech," Portalatin recalled saying. "And he just said, 'Do you want to come?' That came from him."
Portalatin, along with coworkers Ursula Bush and Jennifer Coby, accepted the offer. They rode in a staffer's car as part of the motorcade to the Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill. "We were just like laughing and were taking videos," Portalatin said. "It was very fun."
The employees were seated near the stage for Vance's address, which focused on a new $500 million federal grant for the Cleveland-Cliffs facility. The investment, matched by Cleveland-Cliffs, aims to bolster the domestic steel supply chain and is projected to create 2,300 jobs.
Bush shared that the announcement was significant as many of her family members, including her father and great-grandparents, had worked at the mill. She described Vance as "genuine" and "personable."
"He didn't have to ask us to come with him. He didn't have to treat us as well as he treated us," Bush said.
Bush also noted Vance's attentiveness to his newborn son, Alec Neel Vance, born July 19. "He told us a little story about how the baby slept for the first time and only woke up once that night," Bush said. "That made him a real person to me."
The employees expressed gratitude for the experience, which they found to be a memorable event.
"It truly was an honor to do something that not a lot of people get to do," Portalatin said. "I really think God allowed that to happen to us. So I'm still excited."