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Gov. Rick Scott has had his well-known tiffs with the Florida press pool, but at least he’s not locking them in closets. Vice President Joe Biden was in the Orlando area last week headlining a private fundraiser for Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Journalist Scott Powers of the Orlando Sentinel was selected as the pool reporter, but to prevent him from mingling with guests before the veep arrived, Biden’s team basically locked the journalist in a closet.
“Turns out the veep hadn’t arrived, but about 150 guests (minimum donation $500) were already in the house,” the Sentinel’s recount reads. “So to prevent Scott from mingling with the crowd, a member of Biden’s advance team consigned him to a storage closet – and then stood outside the door to make sure he didn’t walk out without permission.”
Powers was locked in the closet for about 90 minutes and was allowed out only to hear Nelson and Biden deliver their remarks. He was then ushered back into the closet in the private home of developer Alan Ginsburg.
Biden’s team has since apologized for the slipup, but apparently the treatment isn’t all that uncommon at these kinds of events. Plus, given journalists’ salaries, living in closet-like spaces is also not uncommon.
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