Dolly Parton once refused Donald Trump’s Medal of Freedom. This incident has resurfaced following the singer’s death on August 25. According to Parton’s team, she passed away following a battle with cancer, but the type she was suffering from was not disclosed.
Dolly Parton turned down medal from Donald Trump for a reason
As the world mourns Dolly Parton’s death, memorable moments from her life are making waves online again. This time, an interview with the singer on Today in 2021, in which she revealed why she refused a Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump, has resurfaced.
In 2016, during Trump’s first term as President, he offered to present the singer with the country’s highest civilian honor. However, Parton confirmed in the 2021 interview that she didn’t feel like accepting the award because her “husband was ill.” Parton’s husband, Carl Thomas Dean, passed away at the age of 82 last year.
She added that when the Trump administration asked her again, she still turned it down because they were asking her to travel, and she stated, “I wouldn’t travel because of the COVID.” Parton continued that she heard Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, was also discussing giving her the award. However, her intention was still not to take it, as she believed, “Now I feel like if I take it, I’ll be doing politics, so I’m not sure. But I don’t work for those awards,” she continued. “It’d be nice, but I’m not sure that I even deserve it.”
The singer said that people finding her deserving of the honor was a “nice compliment.” The main reason Trump and Biden considered giving Parton the Medal of Freedom was her philanthropic work.
After Parton’s death, Trump announced that flags across the country would be lowered to honor the singer’s legacy. He also expressed that her passing was a huge loss to the nation in a post on Truth Social.
