CNN’s Dana Bash Grills WH Adviser on Trump-Barr Dispute: ‘Why Isn’t the President Listening to the Attorney General?’

CNN’s Dana Bash locked horns with Marc Short on Sunday as she pressed the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence over Donald Trump’s recent remarks about numerous matters of law enforcement.

The interview began with a focus on how Attorney General William Barr gave an interview recently where he contradicted Trump on several topics, not the least of which by saying the president’s tweets “make it impossible to do my job.” Trump, on the other hand, has dismissed that critique by tweeting about how he has the “legal right” to direct Barr as he sees fit.

In his reaction, Short dismissed Barr’s comments while saying the AG is “doing a great job” and “he does enjoy the support of the president.” He further dismissed the idea that Barr’s rebuke was “unusual” while decrying the alleged politicalization of the Justice Department.

Bash continued from there by noting that Trump continues to involve himself in criminal cases pertaining to his former associates, so she asked Short “Why isn’t the president listening to the attorney general?” Short defended Trump’s use of Twitter with the common refrain that its how the president communicates with the people, and then he pivoted to complain that the media “never criticized” Eric Holder for calling himself the “wingman” for former president Barack Obama.

Bash noted that Barr “is the one criticizing the president for his tweets” rather than the media, but Short continued to rail against the media, the Russia “hoax,” and CNN’s hiring of former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe (who just had his investigation dropped). When Bash switched gears to ask why Barr is getting directly involved in the cases against Trump’s associates, Short retorted that the AG is trying to “correct” the biased events that transpired in the DOJ.

The interview moved on from there with Bash grilling Short on how Trump could call Michael Bloomberg a “total racist” for his uncovered remarks about stop and frisk, even though the president supports the same policy.

Watch above, via CNN.

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