CNN's John Berman shreds ex-Trump official who blames the media for president not personally thanking McCain

Marc Short, the former White House Director of Legislative Affairs under President Donald Trump, said that the news media should blame itself for President Donald Trump not personally honoring the late Sen. John McCain.

During an interview with CNN's John Berman, the former Trump official downplayed the fact that the president only sent out a tweet sending condolences to McCain's family, while never once thanking McCain himself for his service to the United States.

"It's important to keep in mind a couple of things," said Short. "The president did express his condolences to the family. You saw yesterday several members of his cabinet, including Secretary Mattis..."

"They're not the president, they're not the president," Berman interjected.

"I'm not finished, John," Short replied. "The vice president, all issued statements that would have been approved by the president before they went out."

Short then pivoted to blaming the media for the president's actions.

"I think it's a bit of a Catch-22," he said. "If the president put out a flowery statement about John McCain's life, the media would criticize it and say it is not consistent about the other things he said about him in the past... the media's trying to bring the president into this, and I think it's actually respectful for the president to give it space and distance and to allow the family its opportunity to celebrate John McCain's life."

Berman quickly rejected the entire premise of Short's argument.

"You're saying it's somehow more respectful to the legacy of John McCain for the president not to thank him for his service?" he asked.

Watch the video below.