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Cheers echoed through the East Room of the White House on Saturday as actor and activist Michael J. Fox took the stage to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden.
Fox is one of 19 people, including the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Bono, who will receive the award, the nation’s highest civilian honor, on Saturday.
“Defend America’s values, even when they are under attack,” Biden told the honorees. “Together, you are making an incredible mark on our country, with insight and impact that can be felt around the world.”
Today’s ceremony marked the last time Biden presented the prestigious honor during his tenure.
In addition to Fox and Clinton, the group of award-winning luminaries included the chef and founder of World Central Kitchen Jose Andresthe late Obama administration Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
The latter recipient drew laughter from the crowd as he crouched down to allow the president to place the medal over his head.
Other artistic and cultural leaders were also honored, including an actor Denzel Washingtonlong-standing Vogue the editor Anna WintourAmerican Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr, and former Kennedy Center President David Rubinstein.
In addition, the president praised designer Ralph Lauren, a football star Lionel MessiLGBTQ+ 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 US Attorney General Robert F Kennedy Sr., whose son is a lawyer and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is slated to be named Donald Trump’s next Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Speaking about Kennedy, Biden sounded personal.
“Bobby Kennedy is one of my true political heroes,” the president said. “I love him and miss him very much.”
The honor is conferred solely at the discretion of the President United States of Americabut recipients are often selected with the help of an external advisory board.
Established under the late President John F. Kennedy, the medal is “awarded to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, to world peace, or to other significant social, public, or private endeavors.”
“President Biden believes that great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair chance 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 an exceptional contribution to their country and the world,” the White House said in a press release on the award ceremony.
In 2022, Biden awarded the medal to 17 recipients, including gymnast Simone Biles and former Arizona congresswoman-turned-gun safety advocate Gabrielle Giffords.
Last year, he awarded the award to 19 people, including the former vice president Al Goreformer mayor of New York Michael Bloombergand an Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.