Cheers rang out through the East Room of the White House on Saturday as actor and activist Michael J. Fox walked up to the stage to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden.
Fox is one of 19 people, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bono, to be given the award on Saturday, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
“You defend the values of America, even when they’re under attack,” Biden told the honorees. “Together, you leave an incredible mark on our country, with insight and influence that can be felt around the globe.”
Today’s ceremony marked the final time Biden presented the prestigious honor during his term in office.
In addition to Fox and Clinton, the group of awarded luminaries included chef and World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres, late Obama administration defense secretary Ashton Carter, and Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
The latter honoree elicited laughter from the crowd as he squatted down to let the president put the medal over his head.
Other arts and cultural leaders were also honored, including actor Denzel Washington, longtime Vogue editor Anna Wintour, American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr, and former Kennedy Center chair David Rubinstein.
In addition, the president commended designer Ralph Lauren, soccer star Lionel Messi, LGBTQ+ activist and entrepreneur Tim Gill, conservationist Jane Goodall and Democratic Party megadonor and philanthropist George Soros.
Biden also posthumously honored voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, the late Michigan governor George Romney (father of former Utah senator Mitt Romney) and the late New York senator and U.S. attorney general Robert F Kennedy Sr., whose son, lawyer and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is set to be nominated as Donald Trump’s next Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Speaking about Kennedy, Biden sounded a personal note.
“Bobby Kennedy is one of my true political heroes,” the president said. “I love and miss him dearly.”
The honor is awarded solely at the discretion of the President of the United States, but recipients are often selected with the help of an outside advisory panel.
Established under the late president John F Kennedy, the medal is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”
“President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else. These 19 Americans are great leaders who have made America a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world,” the White House said in a statement announcing the awards.
In 2022, Biden bestowed the medal on 17 recipients, including gymnast Simone Biles and former Arizona congresswoman turned gun safety advocate Gabrielle Giffords.
Last year he awarded the decoration to 19 people, including former vice president Al Gore, ex-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.
