Despite never wearing her political beliefs on her sleeve and repeatedly dodging reporters’ questions about the president, Donald Trump swears that Dolly Parton thought he was ‘very nice’.
Parton died on Tuesday at the age of 80 after a brief battle with… cancer.
The president quickly issued a statement praising her life and work after the news broke and ordered that American flags be flown at half-mast in her honor for a week.
“Very sad to report that one of the greatest country singers, and beyond, EVER, has just passed away. This is a real loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and there never will be,” Trump wrote.
Then he went further, in pure Trumpian fashion, and claimed a compliment for himself.
“I knew her a little bit,” the president told Glenn Beck on Wednesday morning. “She wasn’t much of a political person.”
“She really liked me, I’ll tell you that,” he added.
Growing up in a bygone era when stars kept their political opinions to themselves, Parton never really got involved in government affairs.
Donald Trump said Wednesday that even though Dolly Parton “wasn’t a very political person,” she “liked him a lot”
Country music icon Dolly Parton died at the age of 80 in Nashville after suffering from cancer
Parton has repeatedly dismissed questions from the press about her political leanings
In 2016, when the presidential campaign was in full swing, Parton told CNN that Trump and Hillary Clinton were “both crazy.”
She went on to call the presidential race “the biggest show on television” and declined to say which candidate she was supporting.
Some believed her comments about Clinton were a veiled statement of support, with Parton further explaining her impartiality.
“I did not support Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump,” the country star responded at the time.
Later in 2018, a reporter from ABC’s Nightline asked Parton if Trump compared to the sexist boss in the 9 to 5 movie.
Once again she refused to engage in political fodder.
“I’m not going to answer that,” she said, elegantly deflecting the question.
“I’m not in politics, I’m an entertainer,” the music star continued. “That’s why I don’t talk about people.”
Paton was quick to remind reporters that she was an entertainer and not involved in politics
In a 2019 Guardian interview, when she pressed the president again, she ended the investigation, saying, “I’m not talking about Trump!”
Although her cause of death has not been made public, Parton’s agents previously said she was forced to cancel a series of shows due to “health issues.”
Parton’s Las Vegas residency – her first in 32 years – was initially postponed in September due to “health concerns.” Six scheduled shows at Caesars Palace were later rescheduled before being officially canceled in May of this year.
At the time, the Queen of Country, best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5, reassured fans: “Don’t worry about me quitting the business because God hasn’t said anything about quitting yet,” she said.
“But I think he’s telling me to slow down now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you.”
It has since been reported that Parton spent her final days at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was reportedly admitted to hospital on Friday.
