Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday at the age of 80, managed for decades to do something rare for a figure with her level of influence in American life: remain beloved on both sides of a deeply polarized political divide.
That was no accident. The legendary country singer systematically avoided taking a public stance in favor of either Democrats or Republicans, even as she found herself at the center of some of the most bitter presidential contests of recent years. In 2023, she explained her reasoning with characteristic simplicity, saying that taking sides would mean losing half her audience.
She Backed Neither Trump Nor Clinton
In 2016, remarks Parton made about Hillary Clinton were interpreted by some as political support for the Democratic candidate. Parton moved quickly to clarify that she had endorsed neither Clinton nor Donald Trump and did not want to be drawn into the political fight.
She held the same position in the years that followed, declining to publicly back a candidate in either the 2020 or 2024 elections and preserving her image as an artist who wanted to reach everyone regardless of political identity. Parton had also spoken about how deeply political polarization had seeped into American families, saying that disagreements over Trump and Joe Biden had made even family dinners difficult.
She Said No to Trump Twice
Her relationship with political power is perhaps best captured by the story of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the United States government. Donald Trump offered it to her twice during his first presidential term, and both times Parton turned it down.
She had explained that the first refusal was because of her husband Carl Dean's illness. The second time, she declined because she did not want to travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
Notably, her caution was not reserved for Trump alone. When Joe Biden's administration later approached her about the same honor, Parton remained wary, fearing that accepting it could be read as a political statement. In total, she turned down the Medal of Freedom three times, twice under Trump and once under Biden.
"I Have Democratic and Republican Fans"
Staying out of politics did not mean Parton had no opinions of her own. She said she naturally had her own views but did not think it necessary to turn them into public political interventions.
She had both Democratic and Republican friends and fans, she said, and did not want to offend any of them. That approach became one of the secrets behind her exceptionally broad appeal. In a country where artists and celebrities frequently align openly with political camps, Parton managed to remain a rare shared reference point for people who agreed on almost nothing else.
Not Apolitical, Just Unwilling to Pick a Party
None of this meant Parton was indifferent to what was happening around her. Through her philanthropic work, she took substantive positions on issues including education, child poverty, health care and access to books.
In 2023 she also released the song "World on Fire," which leveled broad criticism at politicians on both sides of the American political system. Her stance, then, was less a posture of political neutrality and more a deliberate refusal to let herself become a partisan symbol.
That may explain why, following her death, tributes have come from people with entirely different political starting points. Parton built a career on her music, her humor, her charity work and her ability to connect with an enormous audience. In an era of extreme political polarization, one of her most political choices was ultimately her refusal to choose a side.
