President Donald Trump reacted to news of Dolly Parton’s death by claiming that the country music icon secretly “really liked me” and that her death feels like losing “a member of the family.”
“I knew her a little bit, she wasn’t a very political person,” he said in an interview with Glenn Beck on Wednesday, a day after the “Jolene” singer-songwriter’s death sent shockwaves around the world.
“She really liked me, I will tell you,” he went on, while claiming she never expressed this publicly because she didn’t want to lose some of her fanbase.
“She was of the opinion, the 50%, who needs to lose?” he said. “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, just a nice person. I liked her a lot.”
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In her memory, Trump ordered the nation’s flags to be flown at half-staff for one week, one of the longest periods of national mourning ever issued for a private citizen.
“There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” he proclaimed in a social media post.
Parton had refused to publicly wade into politics, including by sharing her feelings about Trump. The businesswoman and philanthropist reasoned she didn’t want to offend anyone and divide her fans. She’d instead let her music ― and actions ― speak for her, she said.
“I know whatever I say, people are going to listen, and they’re going to make more of it than maybe what I meant. So I have to be careful. Of course I have my opinion, but I’m not an opinionated person as a rule,” she told People in 2021.
Some of the issues she did address and supported included equality for the LGBTQ+ community, children’s education and literacy, and vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic — with her having helped fund Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
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The Trump administration, in contrast, has increasingly advocated against vaccinations, with Trump appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time anti-vaxxer, to oversee the nation’s health department, leading to a historic rise in measles cases and unsupported claims that the shots may be linked to autism.
Trump also revoked executive orders and actions that called for nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in federal agencies and in schools. His administration also carried out targeted campaigns against transgender individuals in schools, athletics and in the military.
“I think everybody should be treated with respect,” Dolly told CNN in 2016 when asked about a contentious anti-LGBTQ “Bathroom Bill” in North Carolina that imposed rules on bathroom and changing facilities based on one’s gender at birth.
“I don’t judge people. I try not to get too caught up in the controversy of things. I hope that everybody gets a chance to be who and what they are. I just know if I have to pee, I’m going to pee. I don’t care where it’s going to be,” she went on.
That same year, before elected into his first term, Trump said he agreed with trans individuals being allowed to use the bathroom of their choice. After being sworn in, his administration ended federal protections for transgender students.