With 16 days left in a half-century-long political career, President Biden on Saturday bestowed one of the nation's highest honors on a core member of the political, business and celebrity worlds he has been a part of over the years.
President-elect Donald J. Trump will take over from Biden on January 20 and is determined to continue his assault on the region he has long referred to as the “swamp.” In 2016, Trump vowed to wage war against establishment members of both parties, saying they “reap benefits from government at a cost to the people.”
But on Saturday, Mr. Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 18 people, including some of the brightest lights of the old guard that Mr. Trump is trying to break with. In doing so, the 82-year-old president is sending an unmistakable message of support for the democratic order that he says is threatened by Trump's re-election.
“Remember, our sacred endeavor continues. And as our Mother says, in order to continue moving forward, we must continue to have faith,” the ceremony concludes. told an audience in the East Room of the White House.
Among the honorees was Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, senator and secretary of state whom Trump threatened to jail and who received a standing ovation on Saturday. Robert F. Kennedy, the assassinated senator whose son hugged Trump; George Romney is the late father of former Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who repeatedly rejected Trump's actions and philosophy. Romney, his younger brother, accepted the award on Saturday. Kennedy's medal was accepted by his daughter, Kerry Kennedy.
Like many presidents who have awarded the Medal of Freedom, Mr. Biden is also one of the largest Democratic donors, a billionaire liberal activist who has been nominated by Republicans for the Medal of Freedom. He paid tribute to the party's most prolific fundraisers, including George Soros. The party's evil puppeteer.
Among them is media executive and cultural figure Anna Wintour, who has featured first lady Jill Biden on the cover of Vogue twice in the past four years, despite rejecting Melania Trump during her husband's presidency. was also included. Ms. Wintour is one of the fashion industry's leading fundraisers and last year hosted events for Mr. Biden's re-election campaign in London and Paris.
Biden also praised people who have contributed to society, including artists, musicians, athletes, philanthropists and singer Bono. Actor Michael J. Fox. Earvin Johnson, a basketball legend known as Magic. and investor David M. Rubenstein.
According to the White House, the 19th recipient of the award, soccer megastar Lionel Messi, did not attend the award ceremony due to scheduling conflicts, and no substitute recipient was sent to receive the award.
“As cultural icons, dignified politicians, humanitarians, rock stars, and sports stars, you feed the hungry, give hope to the hurting, and support our movements and communities,” Biden said. “We create the signs and sounds of memory.”
All modern presidents have bestowed medals on those they deem deserving, sometimes leaving the political stage for good, sometimes leaving for ideological reasons. Historians see this as the ultimate use of the presidential megaphone to communicate to the American people, “This is the man we should admire and emulate.''
After Trump's victory in 2016, President Barack Obama awarded medals to NBA star Michael Jordan and actors Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro. Previously, Obama had presented the award to Biden, who served as vice president.
Four years later, upon leaving office, Trump awarded medals to two professional golfers, an Olympian, and two of Congress' most ardent Republicans, Rep. Devin Nunes of California and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. I gave it.
But Biden's use of executive privilege appeared to be more pointed than some of his predecessors.
His decision to posthumously award the medal to Kennedy could be interpreted as a rebuke to his son, a member of perhaps the country's most famous Democratic family. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to support Trump during the campaign, despite criticism from most of his family, contributed to Trump's selection of him as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Connected.
The White House noted that Mr. Romney, a Republican, served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation and later served as governor of Michigan and secretary of Housing and Urban Development. But he is also the father of Romney, the only Republican to vote to convict Trump twice after he was impeached twice.
Romney's award follows this week's award of the Presidential National Medal, one of America's highest civilian honors, to Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who led the effort to hold Trump accountable for his actions during the assault. This reflects Biden's decision. Capitol Building in 2021.
Both awards from Democratic presidents to prominent Republicans give Mr. Biden the public relations jolt that has mostly gone to Mr. Trump since the election.
The same could not be said for Mr. Soros. By awarding the medal, Biden is recognizing how important an investor and philanthropist he has been to the Democratic Party. This is something many members of Mr. Biden's party have done cautiously, fearing that Mr. Trump and other Republicans will use it as evidence of the conspiratorial control Mr. Biden has.
But Biden seems intent on ignoring those concerns. Biden seemed to be trying to say, “We have billionaires, too,” after Trump has spent weeks introducing the world's richest man, Elon Musk, as a member of his inner circle.
Mr. Soros has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on progressive politics since the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, and millions of dollars have flowed into politics from corporations and the wealthy people who run them. Mr. Soros and his family decisively supported Mr. Biden in the aftermath of Mr. Biden's disastrous performance in last year's debates.
The White House's description of Soros at the ceremony was more solid, focusing on his creation of the Open Society Foundations.
“He settled in America as an investor and philanthropist who supports the key pillars of an open society: rights and justice, equity and equality, and freedom now and in the future,” the announcer said. “His inspiring generosity reminds us of our ability and obligation to stand up against abuses of power and to be guardians of all people who aspire to democracy and freedom.”
Mr. Soros did not attend the ceremony. The medal was accepted by his son Alex Soros.
Other major backers include software entrepreneur Tim Gill. He is one of the gay community's most important donors, working to advance LGBTQ rights first in his home state of Colorado and then nationally. He donated $355,000 to the Biden Victory Fund during the 2020 campaign.
Other athletes awarded medals on Saturday were:
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Bill Nye, television personality known as “The Science Guy”
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Jose Andres, Founder Chef, World Central Kitchen
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Former Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter passed away in 2022
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Jane Goodall, a primatologist who expanded our understanding of human evolution by studying primates
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Fannie Lou Hamer, racial justice activist who helped lay the groundwork for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, died in 1977
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George Stevens Jr., founder of the American Film Institute and creator of the Kennedy Center Honors
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Theodore Shleifer Contributed to the report.
