The advisers working with former President Donald Trump after the 2020 presidential election "were basically snake oil salesmen," Marc Short said on Sunday's Meet the Press, leading Trump to believe that there was some way former Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the results.
Short served as Pence's chief of staff, and was with him at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack. In an address on Friday to the conservative Federalist Society, Pence pushed back at Trump's false assertion that he could have decided the election, saying, "President Trump is wrong." Short backed Pence up on Meet the Press, telling host Chuck Todd that Pence made it clear from the beginning he could not overturn the election and never intended to delay certification of the results.
Trump, Short continued, "had many bad advisers, who were basically snake oil salesmen giving him really random and novel ideas as to what the vice president could do. But our office, you know, researched that and recognized that was never an option." Short added that he didn't know if Trump sought out this advice because it's what he wanted to hear.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Short said he thinks the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack is "partisan," but he testified before its members because he was subpoenaed. "I don't know how often you've been subpoenaed, Chuck, and if you view that as cooperation, but I view that as following the law," he said.
-
6 lovely barn homesFeature Featuring a New Jersey homestead on 63 acres and California property with a silo watchtower
-
Film reviews: ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Is This Thing On?’Feature A born grifter chases his table tennis dreams and a dad turns to stand-up to fight off heartbreak
-
Political cartoons for December 14Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a new White House flag, Venezuela negotiations, and more
-
‘City leaders must recognize its residents as part of its lifeblood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem might not be long for TrumplandIN THE SPOTLIGHT She has been one of the most visible and vocal architects of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts, even as her own star risks fading
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Will there be peace before Christmas in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Discussions over the weekend could see a unified set of proposals from EU, UK and US to present to Moscow
-
‘The menu’s other highlights smack of the surreal’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
