Marc Short, who served as the director of legislative affairs under former President Donald Trump and later as the chief of staff to then-Vice President Mike Pence, shared his thoughts on Trump’s recent mugshot taken at the Fulton County Jail during an interview on Friday’s edition of The Lead with host Jake Tapper. Trump was indicted for his actions related to overturning the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
Tapper asked Short about his reaction to seeing Trump’s mugshot and its implications. Short responded with a somber tone, describing it as a sad and tragic situation. He expressed pride in the four years of Trump’s presidency and noted that Trump had been supportive of him and his family during that time. Short emphasized that there is no room for celebration in this situation.
Short went on to acknowledge the events of January 6th as tragic and avoidable. He laid blame on what he perceived as bad counsel that Trump received, often from advisors that Trump himself had sought out. Short specifically pointed out that Trump’s insistence on having Vice President Pence disregard the Constitution by rejecting the election results was a significant violation of his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
“What is it like to see that photo?” Tapper inquired.
Short responded:
I think it’s sad. I think it’s tragic, Jake. I think that I’m very proud of the four years of record. And I think that the president was great to me and great to my family. So, I don’t think there’s any celebration.
I do think that the events of January 6 were tragic and certainly avoidable. And I think that the president got a lot of bad counsel – in many cases, counsel he sought out that I think led him astray. And I think that ultimately asking the vice president to sort of put aside the Constitution is a huge violation of your most important oath to the American people, to protect and defend the Constitution.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Trump pursued various strategies to try to remain in the White House, including the belief that Vice President Pence had the authority to reject the election results during the congressional certification process. When Pence refused to do so, it contributed to the storming of the Capitol by a group of angry Trump supporters.
