Dolly Parton twice rejected the highest civilian honor in the United States when Donald Trump offered her, but is unsure of accepting Joe Biden’s presidential medal of liberty, because it might seem political to do so.
“I couldn’t accept it because my husband was sick,” the 75-year-old country music star said of Trump’s first offer on NBC Today, “and then they asked me about it again and I wouldn’t travel. because of Covid “.
In April last year, Parton donated $ 1 million to help research and develop the Modern Covid-19 vaccine.
He then told the BBC: “I’m sure many, many millions of dollars from a lot of people spent on it, but I was so proud to have been part of that money back then that, hopefully, it will become something fantastic. and they will help to heal this world. Lord knows we need it! ”
Speaking to NBC, he said he had received news from the Biden administration, but added: “Now I have a feeling that if I take it, I will do politics, so I’m not sure.
“I do not work for these awards. It would be nice, but I’m not sure it even deserves it. But it’s a good compliment because people think I might deserve it. “
Parton’s charity work extends far beyond the battle against Covid, including the task of fostering child literacy. He told Today that he was “happy that anything he does can help someone else, and when I gave the money to the Covid fund, I just wanted him to do well. Obviously, it is ”.
Despite a troubled start to the vaccination campaign in the United States, the firing of Moderna and another from Pfizer BioNTech are in circulation as Biden wants to address a problem bequeathed by Trump. As of Monday morning, the United States had reported nearly 26.3 million cases of coronavirus and more than 443,000 deaths. Biden has said the final death toll could reach 660,000.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the United States. Trump gave it to a musician, Elvis Presley, but it reached the headlines at the end of his term by giving it to close political allies Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan, Republican congressmen who supported the president through impeachment and others. scandals.
In November, CBS Late Show presenter Stephen Colbert asked former President Barack Obama, who honored musicians such as 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. It has impacted me. In fact, it surprised me. I think I assumed I had already gotten one and it was wrong. It surprises me, it deserves one ”.
Obama said he would “call Biden.” It seems so.