Dolly Parton twice declined America’s greatest civilian tribute when Donald Trump offered it – but he is unsure whether to accept Joe Biden’s presidential medal of freedom, because it may seem political to do so.
“I couldn’t accept it because my husband was sick,” said country music star, 75, to NBC’s Today of Trump program, “and then they asked me about it and I didn’t want to travel because of Covid.”
In April last year, Parton donated $ 1 million to help research and develop the Modern vaccine against Covid-19.
Then she told the BBC: “I am sure that many, many millions of dollars from many people went to this, but I felt very proud to have been part of that small start-up capital that I hope will turn into something big and help cure that world. God knows we need this! “
Speaking to NBC, she said she heard about the Biden government, but added: “Now I feel that if I accept it, I will be doing politics, so I’m not sure.
“I don’t work for these awards. It would be nice, but I’m not sure I deserve it. But it’s a good compliment for people to think that I deserve it. “
Parton’s charity work spans far more than the battle against Covid, including work to increase children’s literacy. She said that today she is “very happy that anything I do can help someone else, and when I donated the money to the Covid fund, I just wanted it to be good. Of course, it is. “
Despite a troubled start to the vaccination campaign in the United States, Modern and another injection from Pfizer BioNTech are in circulation, while Biden tries to solve a problem left by Trump. As of Monday morning, the United States recorded almost 26.3 million cases of coronavirus and more than 443,000 deaths. Biden said the final death toll could reach 660,000.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the United States’ greatest civilian tribute. Trump gave it to a musician, Elvis Presley, but made headlines at the end of his term by awarding it to political allies Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan, Republican congressmen who supported the president through impeachment and other scandals.
In November, CBS Late Show host Stephen Colbert asked former President Barack Obama, who honored musicians like James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen: “How come Dolly Parton doesn’t have a presidential medal for freedom? “
Obama said: “This is a mistake. I’m shocked. It was actually a mess, I’m surprised. I think I assumed she already had one and that was incorrect. I’m surprised, she deserves one. “
Obama said he would “call Biden”. It seems so.