Washington During a ceremony at the White House on Saturday, President Joe Biden presented over a dozen politicians, philanthropists, and cultural icons with the country’s highest civilian distinction.
Nineteen people, including billionaire benefactor George Soros and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Four individuals received posthumous honors.
During his speech, Biden referred to the award winners “a collection of people, with different backgrounds and beliefs and talents, different generations and different agendas, using their remarkable gifts and unwavering passion to strengthen our resolve as one nation under god indivisible, liberty and justice for all.”
He spoke to them and said, “you answered the call to serve and led others to do the same thing, and you defend the values of America even when they re under attack, because they have been.”
According to a White House news release before to the ceremony, the medal is given to people who have made outstanding contributions to global peace, American prosperity, values, or security, or other noteworthy societal, public, or private undertakings.
The statement went on to say that these 19 Americans are outstanding leaders who have improved America. They are outstanding leaders because they are decent individuals who have significantly impacted both their nation and the world.
About two weeks before Donald Trump, her former political foe, is sworn in for a second term, Clinton accepted the prize. Clinton lost to Trump in 2016, but she was the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party.
According to the website of the Open Society Foundations, which he created, Soros has donated over $32 billion to the organization, which promotes a range of pro-democracy and human rights issues. He is a significant Democratic fundraiser as well.
Humanitarian and chef Jos Andrs, whose World Central Kitchen has assisted in providing food for civilians in war zones and disaster-affected areas, Jane Goodall, a highly regarded scientist and conservationist, and Bill Nye, a science educator who gained notoriety with the show Bill Nye the Science Guy, were among the other people who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Saturday.
Athletes Lionel Messi and Earvin Magic Johnson, fashion luminaries Anna Wintour and Ralph Lauren, U2 singer Bono, actors Michael J. Fox and Denzel Washington, and other entertainment, sports, and cultural giants were also honored.
Biden has paid tribute to other honorees after their deaths, such as Robert F. Kennedy, who was killed in 1968 while running for president. Kennedy, who represented New York in the Senate, had been attorney general under his brother, President John F. Kennedy.
George Romney, the governor of Michigan in the 1960s and the father of former Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Ashton Carter, who served as secretary of defense under the Obama administration and led the American campaign against the Islamic State, were also honored posthumously.
In 2017, during the latter days of the Obama administration, Biden himself was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The award, which was given with distinction, was an additional honor that then-President Barack Obama gave to Biden as a surprise.
Throughout his four years in office, Biden has given the medal to scores of other people. Although Biden also presented the medal to Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood, in November, the ceremonies typically occur roughly once a year.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo, were among the 20 recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal that Biden presented earlier this week. Trump has been angry with Thompson and Cheney, who were members of the House Jan. 6 committee. After the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Presidential Citizens Medal is the second-highest civilian award.
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