Hypocrisy

Two faced, double-dealer, smooth-tongued Donald who was the antithesis of what Dolly Parton stood for.

Donald Trump Is Lowering Flags for Dolly Parton While Desecrating Her Legacy of Inclusion and Respect

The president’s political career has been spent countering many of the values Parton held so dear.

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By Samantha Allen

August 25, 202

There are few celebrities whose passing could inspire such universal mourning as Dolly Parton. The country music legend and renowned philanthropist died today at age 80, turning all of our social media feeds into a sea of black-and-white portraits and tearful remembrances.

Surprisingly, those grieving Parton’s passing included one figure whose entire political career runs counter to her legacy of inclusion and respect: Donald Trump, who ordered the flag of the United States of America to be lowered for a one-week period beginning tonight.

“Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away,“ Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”

Broken clocks are right twice a day and so, apparently, are failed presidents. But what Trump doesn’t realize is that the reason so many people will experience Parton’s death as a “true loss” is because she stood for love, compassion, and kindness — all qualities that are especially lacking in Trump’s second administration.

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And, of course, on LGBTQ+ rights, Donald Trump has seemingly made it his sworn mission to attack our community at every turn, with the vitriol and hurtful policymaking only ramping up in his second term. His administration has reserved its worst attacks for transgender people, targeting rights to restroom use, to obtaining correct identity markers on government documents, to employment protections, and so much more. Dolly Parton, meanwhile, adored the LGBTQ+ community, frequently collaborating with queer artists, defending her queer fans, and embracing her status as a drag icon, as The Advocate has documented.

She also had LGBTQ+ family members and employees herself, as she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 when asked about anti-trans legislation in her home state of Tennessee. “I have some of everybody in my own immediate family and in my circle of employees,” she said. “I’ve got transgender people. I’ve got gays. I’ve got lesbians. I’ve got drunks. I’ve got drug addicts — all within my own family. I know and love them all, and I do not judge.”

With her trademark humor, she added, “They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton, you know, the way people know me.”

The only reason Trump lowered the flag is for “optic”