WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump compared the death of country singer Dolly Parton to losing a close family member as he remembered a cultural icon beloved by Americans of all political stripes.
“She was unique. She was amazing. And to lose her, it’s like you lose a member of the family,” Trump said in an Aug. 26 interview on conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s radio show. “You know, we all knew her so well.”
Trump said Parton liked him personally but also noted she famously stayed out of politics, allowing her not to turn off half her fans.
“I knew her a little bit. She wasn’t a very political person. She really liked me, I will tell you,” the president said. “But she was also of the opinion ‒ you know, the 50%, who needs to lose? I don’t think it’s 50, I think it’s probably 20% of the fans, OK? Not 50. But she was a great person. She was just a nice person. I liked her a lot.”
Trump ordered the lowering of American flags across the country shortly after Parton’s death was announced on Aug. 25.
“I thought it was a natural thing to lower the flags,” Trump said.
Parton rose from poverty as a child in rural Appalachia in East Tennessee to become a country star in Nashville, with hit songs such as “I Will Always Love You,” “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “9 to 5.” She was also widely admired for her philanthropy, including her Imagination Library program, which has gifted more than 300 million books to children across the world over 31 years.
Representatives of Parton confirmed she died after a brief battle with cancer after being admitted to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on Aug. 21. The singer’s representatives did not disclose the type of her cancer.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.