American flags are being lowered across the country for one week after Dolly Parton’s death at 80, following an order announced by Donald Trump on Tuesday. Trump announced the Dolly Parton tribute on Truth Social hours after news of the country music legend’s death became public. He called her passing a major loss and wrote, “There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”
Trump said American flags would be lowered beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday and remain at half-staff for one week. He closed his message with another tribute to the Tennessee native, writing, “Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you.”
The tribute follows confirmation that Parton died Tuesday in Nashville. Her publicist said the singer died peacefully at age 80. A cause of death was not immediately announced. The AP reported that Parton’s decades-long career included more than 100 million records sold and some of country music’s most enduring songs, including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You.”
The Dolly Parton tribute also carries an interesting political history. As the Los Angeles Times reported in 2021, Parton declined two offers of the Presidential Medal of Freedom during Trump’s first administration. She explained at the time that she could not accept the first offer because her husband, Carl Dean, was ill and declined the second because she would not travel during the COVID pandemic.
Parton’s impact stretched far beyond records and awards. According to the official Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, she founded the childhood literacy program in 1995 after being inspired by her father’s inability to read and write. What began by serving children in Sevier County, Tennessee, eventually expanded internationally. The organization says it now mails millions of free books every month to children from birth through age five.
Her legacy also included film, business and decades of charitable work. Parton became one of the rare entertainers whose popularity crossed generations, regions and political lines, while her work as a songwriter helped shape modern country and pop music.
