To the Editor:

A number of letters in The Smoky Mountain News have rightly pointed out that liberals are not presenting President Trump in a very positive light.

In this letter only the opinions of conservatives will be cited because it’s about time that conservative views finally get the publicity they deserve from the mainstream media.

For a reliably conservative viewpoint, we should turn to Fox News. Regarding President Trump’s recent Helsinki press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Fox’s Neil Cavuto described Trump’s behavior as “disgusting” (a view also expressed by former Nixon counsel John Dean). Cavuto has also said, “Mr. President, it is not the fake news media that’s your problem; it’s you.” 

Fox anchor Shep Smith has said that the President “keeps repeating ridiculous throwaway lines that are not true at all” and has concluded that “the so-called ‘rigged’ Russian witch hunt is not a witch hunt.” 

In case Cavuto and Smith don’t seem quite conservative enough, we should look at what Brian Kilmeade of “Fox and Friends” says. Responding to the President’s tweet blaming bad U.S-Russian relations on “many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity,” Kilmeade said, “That’s by far the most ridiculous tweet of late.”

Both U.S. senators from Texas, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, have expressed their concern about President Trump’s stated trust of former KGB officer Vladimir Putin at the Helsinki Summit. GOP Representative Will Hurd, also of Texas, said, “Over the course of my career as an undercover officer in the C.I.A., I saw Russian Intelligence manipulate many people. I never thought I would see the day when an American president would be one of them.” Sen. John McCain called the President’s conduct in Helsinki “a tragic mistake,” while GOP Sen. Jeff Flake called it “shameful,” and GOP Sen. Ben Sasse termed it “bizarre.”

As for the President’s zero-tolerance policy of separating families at the border, Republican leaders who criticized the practice include Lindsey Graham, Laura Bush, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, John Kasich, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Susan Collins and Evangelist Franklin Graham, who called the policy “disgraceful.”

Perhaps it would be more fair to cite only conservatives that the President himself vetted and hand-picked to serve him as staff members and who know the President intimately because of their working with him.  These would include former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said the President is “a moron;” current Chief of Staff John Kelly, who has called the President “an idiot;” and H.R. McMaster, who has referred to the President as “a dope.”

As far as what to do about the current political situation, we may look to Steve Schmidt and James Comey, who have been registered Republicans most of their lives. Comey says, “All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall.” Schmidt similarly says, “The first step to a season of renewal in our land is the absolute and utter repudiation of Trump and his vile enablers in the 2018 election by electing Democratic majorities.”

Thank you to The Smoky Mountain News for allowing conservative viewpoints to be shared for a change.

Bill Spencer

Cullowhee