Donald Trump is lowering flags for Dolly Parton while desecrating her legacy of inclusion and respect

This story originally appeared on Them.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.Let’s take it issue by issue. Dolly Parton was no politician, and famously avoided partisan rhetoric in her public appearances, but humanity has no party — and she repeatedly made it clear where she stood.On immigration, Donald Trump has consistently demeaned people from other countries, largely people of color — and campaigned on delivering the “largest deportation” in American history. We have seen that cruelty borne out in detention centers, ICE-involved killings, and federal agents forcibly removing people from their homes. While Dolly Parton didn’t publicly condemn Trump’s immigration policy, I think her 1980 cover of Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” speaks for itself. The song, about Mexican migrant workers who died in a fatal accident while being deported by airp