President Donald Trump has used the death of country icon Dolly Parton to brag about himself.
Parton died at age 80 on Tuesday after a battle with cancer. Tributes flooded in from all corners, from the entertainment industry to politics. MAGA goons lined up to make their own awkward tributes, only for the public to react furiously.
Trump was surprisingly measured in his reaction to the “9 to 5” star’s death, describing it as a “true loss for millions of people.”
He then decreed that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff until September 1.
However, he was up to his old tricks soon after. On Wednesday morning, he was called into the Glenn Beck Program for a live chat with the conspiracy theorist host.
The “Jolene” singer’s death was top of the agenda. Trump, 80, said that he was “a little surprised” that the White House had never honored an entertainer by lowering the U.S. flag to half-mast before.
He then continued, “She was unique, I mean, she was amazing. To lose her is like you lose a member of the family.”
The warm glow soon wore off, and he was talking about himself within seconds. “We all knew her so well. I knew her a little bit. She wasn’t a very political person… she really liked me, I will tell you!” he suddenly said, prompting Beck to laugh out loud in response.
He continued: “But she also wanted to stay very, you know, she was of the opinion, the 50 percent, who needs to lose… I don’t think it’s 50, I think it’s probably 20 percent of the fans. But she was a great person, a nice person; I liked her a lot, and I thought it was a natural thing to lower the flags.”
During Trump’s first term, Parton twice declined the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
She said she declined the first time because her late husband, Carl Dean, was ill. The star declined a second time because she did not want to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parton also declined the same honor from Joe Biden’s White House to avoid appearing political.
She often stayed on the fence in presidential races. “I try not to get political but if I am, I might as well just run myself ’cause I’ve got the hair for it, it’s huge, and they could always use more boobs in the race. But seriously, I have not decided who I’m voting for, but no matter what we’re gonna be suffering from PMS, Presidential Mood Swings,” Parton said on Facebook during the 2016 Clinton v Trump showdown.
At the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards, Parton joined her 9 to 5 co-stars, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, onstage, where Tomlin criticized Trump for being a “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.”
In 2019, on her podcast, Parton suggested she feared blowback if she showed her political allegiances. “I’ve seen things before, like the Dixie Chicks. You can ruin a career for speaking out,” she said.
“I respect my audience too much for that; I respect myself too much for that. Of course I have my own opinions, but that don’t mean I got to throw them out there, because you’re going to p--- off half the people.”
