A daring young boy was not afraid to confront the vice-president of the United States when they met this week at an event for military families in Washington DC.

Mike Pence was giving a speech at the Eisenhower Executive Office building, where he was hosting an event celebrating National Military Appreciation month with a group of army families, when he accidentally hit the boy in the face with his outstretched hand.

Without acknowledging the slight, Pence carried on with his speech. But the precocious child was determined to get the vice-president to apologise for the insult.

As Pence finished his speech and greeted the children gathered around him, the little boy seized his opportunity and said: "Excuse me. You owe me an apology."

The vice-president appeared not to notice the boy, but he followed him and persisted until he caught Pence's attention. The pair had a brief exchange, with Pence telling the child: "Oh I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to bop you."

The video of the hilarious encounter has been liked more than 22,000 times on Facebook

One woman commented on the video: "That's alright kid, he owes the world many apologies. Thanks for making him accountable."