{"id":7108,"date":"2026-08-31T09:35:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T09:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108"},"modified":"2026-08-31T09:35:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T09:35:37","slug":"one-80-year-old-icon-built-an-empire-from-nothing-and-the-other-is-donald-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108","title":{"rendered":"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I had reservations about writing this column because Dolly Parton doesn\u2019t deserve to be in the same piece as Donald Trump, let alone the same sentence.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018My goodness gracious!\u2019 Harry Enten shocked after Trump rebuked in 50-state \u2018sweeperoo\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

She was famously non-political<\/u>, and I think that\u2019s one thing Americans of all stripes <\/u>admired about her. And in her own way, she was vocal<\/u> about the rights of the poor, marginalized, LGBTQ+ individuals, and had a sincere philosophy of unbridled acceptance.<\/p>\n

Then I happened upon numerous social media posts that essentially said that the wrong 80-year-old<\/u> died, and if you know, you know.<\/p>\n

I got to thinking about the comment, and how it sort of forces us to choose which version of the American dream we actually believe in, Dolly\u2019s or Trump\u2019s. And so, in homage to Dolly, I thought the juxtaposition needed to take place because it\u2019s so stark and illuminating.<\/p>\n

Dolly Parton<\/u> was born in a two-room log cabin on Locust Ridge in the Smoky Mountains, one of 12 children, raised without electricity or running water, in a coat her mother sewed together out of rags.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump was born in a mansion in Queens, the son of a millionaire developer who, according to a New York <\/u>Times <\/u>investigation, funneled him at least $413 million in today\u2019s dollars over the course of his life.<\/p>\n

One of them built an empire out of nothing but talent, grit, and compassion. The other inherited a fortune and spent 50 years building a brand only for himself, with a talent for lying and cheating, and with empathy toward no one.<\/p>\n

One was a huge success. The other, an abysmal failure.<\/p>\n

Both have spent six decades turning themselves into American symbols \u2014 albeit vastly different \u2014 instantly recognizable by first name alone, and that\u2019s where the similarities end sharply. Because Dolly Parton, whose death has left the entire country in mourning, spent that fame building things for other people.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump has spent his time building things for himself, and this week, in the ugliest and most literal way yet, he\u2019s threatening to demolish a monument to a slain president.<\/p>\n

Dolly built you up, Donald tears you down.<\/p>\n

She built Dollywood <\/u>in her own dirt-poor home county, not as a monument to herself, but as a way to create jobs for the neighbors and family she grew up alongside. The Imagination Library<\/u> (which some GOP states are working to gut), which she founded in 1995, still mails free books every month to millions of children around the world, most of whom will grow up and never know Dolly gave them the gift of reading.<\/p>\n

When wildfires ripped through Sevier County in 2016 and left families with nothing, Dolly started the My People Fund<\/u> and had $1,000 checks in survivors\u2019 hands within days, no strings attached.<\/p>\n

Her donation to Vanderbilt University helped fund <\/u>the clinical trials that became the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, a shot that has, by now, saved an uncountable number of strangers\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

Now look at what Donald did, or didn\u2019t do<\/u>. Trump Steaks. Trump Vodka. Trump Airlines. Trump Mortgage. All defunct. Trump University, which cost him $25 million in a fraud settlement after ordinary people who trusted his name lost their savings.<\/p>\n

Read more Outrage after MAGA influencers secretly hired at the Pentagon: \u2018We are so screwed\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Multiple Atlantic City casino bankruptcies, in which lenders, contractors, and small vendors absorbed the losses while Trump walked away intact. Every one of these ventures, which put his name up in lights, eventually went dark.<\/p>\n

And now, he\u2019s tearing down, or threatening to tear down, things that are not even his.<\/p>\n

This week it was revealed that Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge that if Trump isn\u2019t allowed to put his name on the Kennedy Center and shut the building down for two years of renovation, the center may simply have to be torn down<\/u> and replaced with an open-air amphitheater.<\/p>\n

The Kennedy Center is a living memorial that Congress established in 1964 to honor President John F. Kennedy. And Trump\u2019s own Justice Department just told a federal court, in writing, that the building\u2019s survival is contingent on Trump getting his name carved into it.<\/p>\n

He is the same thug who tore down the East Wing of the White House to build his gilded ballroom that is only open to the wealthy, and the same madman who is pushing for a 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery that he told a reporter<\/u>, when asked who it was for, was \u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n

One 80-year-old spent her life quietly building things that will keep helping people and make them happier long after she\u2019s gone. The other will go down in history as a loser who did nothing to help anyone but himself.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, in 50 years, kids will still be riding roller coasters at Dollywood and still finding Imagination Library books in their mailboxes. Somewhere, a stranger will still be alive because of a vaccine Dolly Parton\u2019s money helped fund.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s arch, if it\u2019s ever finished, will be a large door with his name on it. And the ballroom, a blight on the White House and a slap in the face to hard-working Americans.<\/p>\n

Look, I don\u2019t like comparing Dolly to Trump, because there is no comparison, and it\u2019s not fair to her memory, or to the angel of a person that she was. But if we must look at what they both represent, it forces us to choose between a path of unifying grace and one of deep, cruel division.<\/p>\n

America is at an inflection point now as the midterms approach, and I for one believe in fate and divine intervention. So, in that spirit, literally and figuratively, perhaps Dolly\u2019s death at this critical time in our nation\u2019s history is a reminder of what we could be versus what we have become <\/p>\n

A country where one kind of American uses fame, fortune and influence to build something that outlives her, while another uses the power of the presidency to tear things down to feed his own ego.<\/p>\n

Maybe that is the choice in front of us now. Not Dolly or Donald, because there is no comparison. But Dolly\u2019s America or Trump\u2019s America. One builds people up. The other tears them down. And if we have learned anything from Dolly Parton\u2019s life, it is that what we leave behind matters far more than how big we managed to make our own name.<\/p>\n

Read more Disturbing new theory floated as Barron Trump can\u2019t shake the Tate brothers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had reservations about writing this column because Dolly Parton doesn\u2019t deserve to be in the same piece as Donald Trump, let alone the same sentence.She was famously non-political, and I think that\u2019s one thing Americans of all stripes admired about her. And in her own way, she was vocal about the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nOne 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump - Property Relocation USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump - Property Relocation USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I had reservations about writing this column because Dolly Parton doesn\u2019t deserve to be in the same piece as Donald Trump, let alone the same sentence.She was famously non-political, and I think that\u2019s one thing Americans of all stripes admired about her. And in her own way, she was vocal about the ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Property Relocation USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-31T09:35:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3532c0f2bf23909f000df694ed25b25b\"},\"headline\":\"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-31T09:35:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108\"},\"wordCount\":1119,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8bfaef7068ab2c25d60fb6a7fa0c574e.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108\",\"name\":\"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump - Property Relocation USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8bfaef7068ab2c25d60fb6a7fa0c574e.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-31T09:35:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3532c0f2bf23909f000df694ed25b25b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8bfaef7068ab2c25d60fb6a7fa0c574e.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8bfaef7068ab2c25d60fb6a7fa0c574e.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?p=7108#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Property Relocation USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3532c0f2bf23909f000df694ed25b25b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/propertyrelocationusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump - Property Relocation USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump - Property Relocation USA","og_description":"I had reservations about writing this column because Dolly Parton doesn\u2019t deserve to be in the same piece as Donald Trump, let alone the same sentence.She was famously non-political, and I think that\u2019s one thing Americans of all stripes admired about her. And in her own way, she was vocal about the ...","og_url":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108","og_site_name":"Property Relocation USA","article_published_time":"2026-08-31T09:35:37+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3532c0f2bf23909f000df694ed25b25b"},"headline":"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump","datePublished":"2026-08-31T09:35:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108"},"wordCount":1119,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8bfaef7068ab2c25d60fb6a7fa0c574e.webp","articleSection":["Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108","url":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108","name":"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump - Property Relocation USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8bfaef7068ab2c25d60fb6a7fa0c574e.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-31T09:35:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3532c0f2bf23909f000df694ed25b25b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8bfaef7068ab2c25d60fb6a7fa0c574e.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8bfaef7068ab2c25d60fb6a7fa0c574e.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=7108#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"One 80-year-old icon built an empire from nothing \u2014 and the other is Donald Trump"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/","name":"Property Relocation USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3532c0f2bf23909f000df694ed25b25b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}