(Donald Trump And Dolly Parton. Photo by Peoples Magazine)
President Donald Trump has spoken fondly of country music legend Dolly Parton following her death, saying losing her felt like losing a close family member.
Trump made the comments during a radio interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck on August 26.
Trump said Parton was unique and amazing, and that everyone knew her well.
He described her death as a significant loss to American culture.
He noted that he knew her personally and said she was a nice person whom he liked a lot.
Trump acknowledged that Parton was not very political, which allowed her to keep fans across the political divide.
He said she was careful about her public image in that way.
He believed she had only lost about 20 percent of her fans because of her cautious approach to politics, rather than half her audience as some might assume.
The president claimed that Parton liked him personally.
However, he recognised that her decision to stay away from politics was part of her strategy to appeal to everyone.
Trump ordered the lowering of American flags across the country after Parton’s death was announced on August 25.
He said lowering the flags felt like a natural response to losing such an important figure.
Parton was born into poverty in rural Appalachia in East Tennessee but became one of country music’s biggest stars.
She recorded hit songs including I Will Always Love You, Jolene, Coat of Many Colors and 9 to 5.
Beyond music, she was widely respected for her charitable work, particularly her Imagination Library programme which has given more than 300 million books to children around the world over 31 years.
Parton died after a short battle with cancer. She had been admitted to a cancer centre in Nashville on August 21.
Her representatives did not say what type of cancer she had.
