Gaff or gag? JD Vance asks Philadelphia cheesesteak shop why they hate Swiss cheese

Ohio Sen. JD Vance caught many Philadelphians off guard when the Republican vice presidential nominee went to a popular cheesesteak spot and asked why they hated Swiss cheese.

Vance made the stop at Pat's King of Steaks on Monday during his trip to North Philadelphia , where he spoke to a small crowd of supporters in the warehouse of a medical waste management company .

When Vance got to the restaurant, he questioned the workers about why they were so selective about their cheeses.

"I don't like Swiss cheese, either," the Republican vice presidential nominee said through the window to several employees at the cheesesteak shop, CBS News reported. "But everyone says it's insulting. Why do you guys hate it so much? What's the story?"

An employee at Pat's replied to Vance saying, "We don't hate it, we just don't use it," according to the outlet.

Vance ended up ordering a "whiz wit," which is a cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and fried onions, CBS News said. The candidate then signed autographs for people lined up around the restaurant and took a photo with some employees.

John Kerry ordered a cheesesteak with Swiss cheese in 2004

Vance is not the only candidate to ask a cheesesteak shop in the City of Brotherly Love about Swiss cheese. During the 2004 presidential campaign, then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry asked a Philadelphia restaurant to prepare his cheesesteak with Swiss cheese instead of the traditional Cheez Whiz.

"Don't come into Philadelphia and try to cater favor with us and then order Swiss cheese, which no one does in Philadelphia," Ed Rendell, the former Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor, said amid the 2016 presidential election.

Democratic U.S. Rep for Philadelphia Brendan Boyle called out Vance's actions in an X post , saying that Vance had "committed a crime against humanity." Graham Allen, a right-wing media personality, commented under Boyle's post and said that Vance's question was "a dig at John Kerry, who asked for Swiss and was laughed out of the city…"

'JD Vance looks absolutely horrified'

Many social media users on X had some things to say about Vance's cheesesteak adventure, including whether he meant to make fun of Kerry, his photo-op afterward and his overall demeanor when he came face to face with Cheez Whiz.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gaff or gag? JD Vance asks Philadelphia cheesesteak shop why they hate Swiss cheese