Lighten up- Some Trump supporters are beginning to whine as much as he does

Have you heard the one about the latest state dinner at that great Presidents Club in the Sky?

The former presidents were all talking about the latest person to sit in the Oval Office (when he is not at one of his golf clubs).

Harry Truman turned to Dwight Eisenhower and said, "All of these years I thought I was giving them hell. Listen to this man."

"You can't say hell up here, Harry," President Eisenhower said.

"The hell you can't."

Calvin Coolidge laughed and turned to the president nearest him. "This Russia business makes your scandal look like a tempest in a Teapot Dome."

Warren Gamaliel Harding was not amused.

Richard Nixon shook his head. "Fake news. At least they don't have me to kick around any more."

Off in the corner Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan were having an intense conversation. 'Back in my day," Reagan said, "I told Mr. Gorbachev to tear down this wall. This guy wants to build one and is willing to shut down the government to do it."

"I know what you mean," Ford said, shaking his head sadly. "I thought Nixon was our long national nightmare."

I would love to know what our former presidents would say about the current officeholder. I will never find that out, but one thing is for absolute certain- there are some Trump supporters who were already fuming as they read that little flight of fantasy. They are snarling and steam is pouring out of their ears as they condemn what the evil Randy Turner, that master of "fake news" is doing to the president. They take every real and perceived slight against Trump as a slight against them and end up sounding more like the bass voice of the Coasters as he proclaimed, "Why's everybody always picking on me?"

While that was funny when the Coasters did it, it comes off as whining now. Heaven help us, it sounds like something somebody would tweet at five in the morning.

I appreciate the readership of the Turner Report. For the most part, I don't see the totally clueless comments I notice on the Facebook pages of some of the area media and that is saying a lot since people many times do not put their names on the comments they leave on this blog. You would think that would open the door to some truly horrific comments, but for the most part, it does not.

You have continued to keep up an intelligent conversation in the comment section for years. The comments are occasionally cruel but for the most part, the conversation is polite and there is an acceptance of other opinions, even when they are diametrically opposed to your own.

I have never tried to hide what the Turner Report is- news and commentary. The large majority of you have no problem telling what is news and what is opinion. I have had many of you comment that you never agree with me, but you appreciate the news you get from this blog and the Inside Joplin blogs.

That is the way it should be.

I have also made a concerted effort to provide views that do not necessarily agree with my own and not just in the comments. I regularly run news releases, columns, and videos from our elected officials.

I have never been one to believe that people's opinions have no value if they don't agree with mine.

There have been times when I have changed my opinion because I was convinced by a winning argument. I grant you it does not happen often, but you have to have an open mind.

That being said, there is a small, but sizable, minority of Trump supporters who cannot tolerate any criticism of their hero. They seem to always deal in hyperbole. No president has ever been treated the way Donald Trump has been. Anyone who reports on Trump with less than the lavish affection provided him by people like Sean Hannity of Fox News are showing "fake news."

I was "fake news" yesterday, according to some of these people. I had the audacity to headline my first post about the president's upcoming visit to Springfield "President Trump coming to Springfield next week- Joplin breathes a sigh of relief."

You would have thought I had committed treason or colluded with Russians.

Lighten up, people. It was a funny line. Of course, people have their own ideas about what is funny and I am sure there are many of you, including some who are not Trump fans, who weren't particularly amused by my attempt at humor.

The comments have not stopped coming. Many simply said they wished Trump would come to Joplin and I have no problem with that.

The first commenter was not at all amused.

And where is that sigh of relief coming from? You are interjecting your opinion into your stories. I for one would be happy if he came to Joplin, and I am sure many share that belief in the area. It would elevate the prominence of Joplin for something besides getting blown away in a Tornado.

Pull your editorial comments out of the stories, if you want to be a journalist, or I'm going to put you in the fake news category too.

And this one.

If you want to loose most of your readers this is the way to do it! #TRUMP2020

One person was kind enough to give me a second chance.

I didn't vote for Obama, didn't agree with his policies. Definitely did not fall for the cool guy persona, but I still thought it was pretty cool when a sitting president visited Joplin. 

This wholesale hatred of Trump is childish and very disturbing. The guy is not a racist and if you think he is then you should turn off CNN and go outside. The media is playing you like a fiddle. It's all for ratings(they admitted it). 

Have you heard anything about Russia lately? They are already on to the next popular smear.
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt Mr. Turner and assume that you were concerned about Antifa idiots protesting, not disrespecting the highest office in the land. I'm sure if this were a year ago, the headline would have been much more positive.

It might have been. I growled and griped about Vice President Biden coming here for the dedication of the new high school, but that's just me I growl and gripe about a lot of things. I was fully in favor of President Obama's visit to Joplin one week after the tornado. That was an appropriate role for a president. I find a rally in Springfield, this one apparently to pressure Congress to pass tax reform, something that the president would have a better chance of doing if he stopped tweeting bad things about the legislators from his own party and stopped whining about the "obstructionist" Democrats, he might be able to stay in Washington and get something done on tax reform and a number of other issues.

Hopefully, Joplin will not have another reason like we had in May 2011 for a president to visit. If it does, I would be writing a much different headline about the visit.

I am also curious about where these people accusing me of "fake news" were when I thoroughly ripped into Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal for her Facebook post advocating the president's assassination.I suppose since they agreed with that, it was "real news."

I will be the first to say I am irritated by some of the anti-Trump comments that are quick to label anyone who supports the president as a racist. While there are certainly racists who support Trump, I don't have a feeling that they make up a large percentage of those who back him.

I am more irritated, however, by those who have tossed common sense to the wind and hopped on the "Fake News" bandwagon.

The worst of the Trump supporters' messages I have not published until now. 

Randy Turner, Remember When everybody thought you were a no-good dirty child molester. And people still have that opinion of you but they gave you the benefit of the doubt when you were never arrested or charged. However you seem to not be able to give the president the benefit of the doubt that maybe your colleagues in the Press are doing a hatchet job on him. I for one will not pay attention anymore and I would encourage those other readers who feel the same to stop following you too. You know we can't put CNN out of business after all the lies that they should be you everyday but hopefully we can you. Now I don't care if you publish this or not but I know you read them so you'll at least understand how we feel about your hatred towards somebody you probably never met. And all you know about him is what you watch on TV from the fake news. Maybe you should look into the good things that he's done in the past and the good things that he's going to do in the future and the good things that you've done now instead of criticizing him for his speech and the way he talks about things. He was elected to get rid of two-faced politicians not to become one.

If the continued existence of the Turner Report is based on having people like this person supporting me, then please, please put me out of my misery.

If the only thing you want to read is someone who totally agrees with your viewpoint, then by all means, go find "real news." I won't try to stop you.

I predict there will come a time in the near future when the people who are being bashed by the president and some of his supporters for their "fake news" are going to be appreciated for providing a patriotic First Amendment service.

To conclude, I note that most of the people who are being described as "two-faced politicians," do not deserve that insult ... and neither does Donald Trump.

If he were two-faced, he wouldn't be wearing that one.

Oh no, there I go with humor again. That always gets me in trouble.