There might as well have been no press at Friday's event with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Before any questions could be asked, a Biden staffer yelled at the small number of reporters in attendance and demanded they clear the room.
"Come on you guys. Let's go!" a Biden staffer is heard making demands, despite the fact that Biden and Harris remain seated at their desks.
When a couple of reporters tried asking questions of the candidate and his running mate, the staffer repeated her demands for the press to clear the room.
"Come on you guys. Come on. Let's go. Come on!" the staffer shouted as if the building was on fire.
"Come on guys. Let's go. Come on," the staffer repeated, upset when the reporters were merely waking and not running out of the room. The staffer finally corrals the reporters and ushers the press out the door.
It was the third day in a row the Biden campaign has prohibited the press from asking any questions of the Democratic presidential nominee and his running mate.
For the THIRD day in a row, press are shuffled out of a Biden-Harris event without the chance to ask questions.
— Ken Farnaso (@KLF) August 14, 2020
It’s not controversial to expect and demand presidential candidates answer unscripted questions from the press and everyday Americans. pic.twitter.com/zkZbQklcTn
The Biden campaign's basement strategy is alive and well, as the campaign works to preserve Biden's poll numbers and limit exposure to the media as much as possible.
On Friday, talk radio host Rush Limbaugh told listeners that Biden would likely pursue his basement strategy so long as President Trump's average job approval rating is below 45 percent. Limbaugh believes Biden's recent call for mandatory mask-wearing over the next three months, i.e. until the November election, represents the Biden campaign's doubling down on their basement strategy.