In the East Room of the White House on a very frigid Saturday afternoon, President Joe Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 of essentially the most well-known names in politics, sports activities, leisure, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and science.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aroused a standing ovation from the group as she obtained her medal. Clinton was accompanied to the occasion by her husband former President Bill Clinton, daughter Chelsea Clinton and grandchildren. Democratic philanthropist George Soros and actor-director Denzel Washington had been additionally awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor in a White House ceremony.
“For the ultimate time as president I’ve the consideration bestowing the Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor, on a gaggle of extraordinary, actually extraordinary folks, who gave their sacred effort, their sacred effort, to form the tradition and the reason for America,” Biden stated in his opening remarks.
“Let me simply say to every of you, thanks, thanks, thanks for all you have performed to assist this nation,” Biden stated Saturday.
Four medals had been awarded posthumously. They went to George W. Romney, who served as each a Michigan governor and secretary of housing and concrete improvement; former Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy; Ash Carter, a former secretary of protection; and Fannie Lou Hamer, who based the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and laid the groundwork for the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Kennedy is father to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for well being and human companies secretary. Biden stated, “Bobby is certainly one of my true political heroes. I like and I miss him dearly.”
Romney is the daddy of former Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, certainly one of Trump’s strongest conservative critics.
Biden has days left within the Presidential workplace and has spent the previous couple of days issuing awards and medals to valiant navy veterans, brave regulation enforcement officers and distinctive Americans.
The White House stated the Medal of Freedom recipients have made “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or safety of the United States, world peace, or different vital societal, public or personal endeavors.”
Major philanthropists receiving the award embody Spanish American chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen charity has grow to be one of many world’s most acknowledged meals reduction organizations, and Bono, the entrance man for rock band U2 and a social justice activist.
Soros’ son Alex Soros accepted the medal on his father’s behalf. In an emailed assertion, Soros stated: “As an immigrant who discovered freedom and prosperity in America, I’m deeply moved by this honor.”
Sports and leisure stars acknowledged embody skilled soccer participant Lionel Messi, who didn’t attend the occasion; retired Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend and businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson; actor Michael J. Fox, who’s an outspoken advocate for Parkinson’s illness analysis and improvement; and William Sanford Nye, identified to generations of scholars as “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
Other awardees embody conservationist Jane Goodall; longtime Vogue Magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour; American clothier Ralph Lauren; American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr.; entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ activist Tim Gill; and David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group international funding agency.
Lauren is the primary clothier to obtain the consideration.
Last 12 months, Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 folks, together with the late Medgar Evers, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina and actor Michelle Yeoh.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was awarded 654 instances between 1963 and 2024, in line with the Congressional Research Service. Notable Medal of Freedom recipients from the previous embody Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou and Mother Teresa.
