The flags were lowered after Parton died at age 80 on Aug. 25 and will remain at half-staff until sunset on Tuesday, Sept. 1, according to a White House announcement issued Wednesday, Aug. 26.
The weeklong tribute represents an unusually lengthy political honor for Parton, who maintained a carefully guarded distance from partisan politics throughout her career. She twice declined offers of the Presidential Medal of Freedom during Trump's first term and also turned down the nation's highest civilian honor once during President Joe Biden's administration.
Trump announced the decision shortly after Parton's death, using Truth Social to praise the country music legend and describe her passing as a profound loss.
“There has never been anyone like her, and never will. In her honor, I am lowering the American flag throughout the United States for a one-week period beginning tonight at 6:00PM. Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you,” he wrote.
The decision places Parton among a small group of public figures to receive a presidentially ordered flag tribute, but the length of the observance stands out.
When longtime Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly on July 11, flags were ordered to remain at half-staff from July 13 until 6 p.m. on July 18.
Right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk, who died at age 31 after being shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, also received a presidential proclamation. Trump ordered flags lowered that day through sunset on Sept. 14, 2025.
Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, Trump ordered flags flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of the pope's interment. Francis was buried on April 26.
The differing periods reflect a mixture of established federal practices and presidential discretion. Trump followed specific guidelines in the cases of Graham and Pope Francis, while the tributes for Kirk and Parton were based on timelines established by the president.
A Cultural Icon Who Avoided Partisan Politics
Parton's relationship with American presidents has largely centered on her cultural influence rather than political affiliation.
Although she never publicly defined herself through a particular political ideology, she has maintained relationships across party lines. She visited the White House in 2006 during President George W. Bush's administration as a Kennedy Center honoree and was photographed with President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
Her reluctance to enter partisan debates has been deliberate.
In a 2021 interview with PEOPLE, Parton explained that she was “very careful” about speaking publicly on political issues because of the attention her words could generate.
“I know whatever I say, people are going to listen, and they’re going to make more of it than maybe what I meant. So I have to be careful,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “Of course I have my opinion, but I’m not an opinionated person as a rule. You’re allowed your own beliefs and your own faith, but you don’t have to use it like a weapon when it could be a tool.”
That approach helped Parton build an unusually broad public following that extended beyond country music. Her career spanned decades, with her work as a singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist and businesswoman making her one of the most recognizable American entertainers.
Trump's decision to lower the flags for an entire week underscores the scale of her public legacy and the unusual place she occupied in American culture.
In his initial reaction to her death, Trump wrote that Parton's passing was “a true loss for millions of people.”
The presidential tribute comes despite the fact that Parton had declined the Presidential Medal of Freedom on multiple occasions. Her decisions not to accept the honor did not prevent her from receiving recognition from successive administrations or from maintaining relationships with political leaders across the ideological spectrum.
The weeklong flag observance therefore represents a notable public acknowledgment of Parton's influence — one that transcends the political boundaries she spent much of her career carefully avoiding.