Can capital gains from shorting a stock ever be taxed as "long term?"

Short answer: yes.

Your last paragraph makes me unsure whether or not you know how shorting works, though.

Generally you open a position by buying a stock and you pay long term capital gains tax if you hold that stock (or have an open position) for over a year.
If you short a stock you're selling a stock you don't own (to open a position) and then later you buy the stock to close the position. It's possible to have an open short position for a significant amount of time.

You close the short position by buying the stock. If you buy more stock than you shorted you are opening a long position (unrelated to your short position), which you need to then hold for over a year to pay long term capital gains tax.
Do note that this isn't a common thing because you're likely paying 8% or so in interest on a short position. So it's likely better to not have a short position for more than a year.

If you sell short without owning substantially identical property (stock or option) in your account, the holding period starts when you later buy the position to close the short sale. The holding period is one day, so it’s a short-term capital gain or loss. Most investors think selling short is the reverse of going long and the holding period should start on the date you short the security — but that is not the case.