United States President Donald Trump has ordered flags across the country to be flown at half-staff following the death of country music legend Dolly Parton at 80.
Trump announced the tribute on Tuesday after Parton’s family confirmed the death of the singer, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist.
Reacting on Truth Social, the US president described her death as a major loss to millions of people and hailed Parton as one of country music’s greatest-ever performers.
“There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” Trump wrote, adding that “the World loves you.”
The White House subsequently issued a presidential proclamation directing that the American flag be lowered at the White House, federal buildings, military installations and naval vessels across the United States and its territories.
The order also extends to US embassies, consular offices and military facilities abroad and will remain in force until sunset on September 1.
Parton’s death on Tuesday triggered an outpouring of tributes from the entertainment industry, political leaders and fans around the world.
Her career stretched across seven decades and produced some of country music’s most recognisable songs, including Jolene, Coat of Many Colors and I Will Always Love You.
She sold more than 100 million records worldwide and became one of the rare country performers whose influence extended far beyond the genre.
But Parton’s legacy was never restricted to music.
She built a successful business empire around ventures including Dollywood and became widely respected for philanthropy, particularly her work promoting childhood literacy through the Imagination Library.
A rare national honour for an entertainer who avoided politics
Trump’s decision to lower flags nationally is particularly striking because Parton spent much of her public life avoiding identification with either major political camp.
Her appeal frequently crossed the political and cultural divisions that have shaped American public life, allowing admirers with dramatically different views to claim an affection for her without Parton herself becoming a conventional political celebrity.
There is also an interesting history between Parton and Trump.
The singer revealed in 2021 that she had twice been offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom during Trump’s first administration but declined on both occasions — initially because her husband was ill and later because she did not want to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her refusal was not presented as a rejection of Trump. Parton later expressed concern that accepting such an honour from any administration could make her appear politically aligned when she had spent years trying to stay above partisan battles.
That history makes Tuesday’s presidential proclamation noteworthy.
Rather than being remembered as a political ally, Parton is receiving one of the country’s most visible official gestures of mourning precisely as an entertainer and humanitarian whose popularity reached across political lines.
Born into a poor family in rural Tennessee as one of 12 children, Parton repeatedly drew on her upbringing in her songwriting before building an entertainment career that eventually made her one of America’s most recognisable cultural figures.
Her death at 80 closes one of country music’s most remarkable careers, but the decision to lower flags across the United States shows that Washington is treating her passing as something considerably larger than the loss of a music star.
