President Joe Biden on Thursday awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor to 17 Americans, including former Arizona senator John McCain and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.
“The cause of freedom shines like the sun to light up the future of the world. That's the soul of our nation. That's who we are as Americans,” Biden said. “And that's what we see: an extraordinary, extraordinary group of Americans up here on this stage.”
The Medal of Freedom is reserved for people “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,” the White House said in a release.
A posthumous and personal award went to McCain, Biden’s former colleague in the Senate and longtime friend, whom he honored last. McCain, who died of brain cancer in 2018, spent more than five years in captivity in Vietnam while serving in the U.S. Navy.
“John and I traveled the world together, literally,” he said. “We became friends. We agreed on a lot more than we disagreed on.”
“We both wanted to make things better for the country that we both loved. And that never wavered,” he added. “We used to argue like hell on the Senate floor, but then we’d go down to have lunch together afterwards.”
Biden reflected on the time when they ran against each other on the presidential ticket in 2008 — McCain for president and Biden for vice president — something he said he “didn’t like.”
“I never stopped admiring John. I never said a negative thing about him in my life, because I knew his honor, his courage and his commitment,” the president said.
And Biden took credit for introducing McCain and his wife, Cindy, in Hawaii when the men were on an official trip to Asia.
“He still owes me,” the president joked. “I think it’s the best thing we ever did for John.”
Biden himself is a medal recipient. President Barack Obama honored Biden’s public service as a longtime U.S. senator and vice president by awarding him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2017, a week before they left office.
The president on Thursday also awarded the medal to Gabby Giffords, the former Democratic U.S. House member from Arizona who founded Giffords, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence. She was shot in the head in January 2011 during a constituent event in Tucson and was gravely wounded.
“Gabby is one of the most courageous people I have ever known,” the president said.
“She's the embodiment … of a single significant American trait: Never, ever give up,” Biden said. “Proof that we will not grow numb to the epidemic of gun violence in this nation. Proof that we can channel the pain and sorrow we see too often in America into a movement that will prevail.”
At age 25, gymnast Simone Biles is the youngest person to receive the Medal of Freedom, Biden said. She is the most decorated American gymnast in history with 32 total Olympic and world medals. She is also outspoken about issues like athletes’ mental health and sexual assault.
“When we see her compete, we see unmatched power and determination, grace enduring,” the president said. “When she stands on the podium, we see what she is: absolute courage [to] turn personal pain into greater purpose, to stand up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
“Today, she adds to her medal count of 32. I don’t know how you're going to find room,” he joked.
"Hearing that I was the youngest was a huge honor," she told reporters after the event. "It's kind of scary. because it is the best award you can receive in your whole life. So now it's kind of scary, like, 'Oh, what do I do now?'"
Biden also bestowed the honor on another champion athlete, Megan Rapinoe, the two-time Women’s World Cup soccer titleholder who captains the OL Reign in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Rapinoe is the first soccer player to receive the Medal of Freedom, Biden said in his speech.
“Megan is a champion for essential American truth. Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Biden “Megan helped lead the most important victory for anyone on our soccer teams – equal pay for women.”
During the ceremony, the olympic gold medalist wore the embroidered initials “BG” on her lapel to honor Brittney Griner, the basketball star detained in Russia.
“The most important part of today,” she wrote in a caption on her Instagram story. “BG We Love You.”
Rapinoe is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice and LGBTQI+ rights who has appeared at Biden’s White House.
Biden also posthumously honored Steve Jobs, the co-founder, chief executive and chair of Apple Inc. He died in 2011.
“We've already seen more technological changes in the last 10 years than almost ever before in history,” said Biden in his speech on Thursday. "We're gonna see a lot more changes in the next 10 years… That is because of Steve Jobs.”
President Biden spoke of Jobs’ innovations and inventions that “revolutionized our way of life.”
“What Steve left us is something special,” said Biden. “Technology has the capacity to improve our lives in ways that haven't even yet been thought of. And a lot of his family…carry on this incredible legacy of doing big things, perhaps the biggest of all, helping us end cancer as we know it.”
The other medal recipients on Thursday were:
— Sister Simone Campbell. Campbell is a member of the Sister of Social Service and a former executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is an advocate for economic justice, overhauling the U.S. immigration system and health care policy. Biden called her a “gift from God.”
— Julieta Garcia. A former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, Garcia was the first Latina to become a college president, the White House said. She was named one of the nation’s best college presidents by Time magazine.
— Fred Gray. Gray was one of the first Black members of the Alabama Legislature after Reconstruction. He was a prominent civil rights attorney who represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP and Martin Luther King Jr.
— Father Alexander Karloutsos. Karloutsos is the assistant to Archbishop Demetrios of America. The White House said Karloutsos has counseled several U.S. presidents, and Biden on Thursday said he had “traveled the country and the world” with his “dear friend.”
— Khizr Khan. An immigrant from Pakistan, Khan’s Army officer son was killed in Iraq. Khan gained national prominence, and became a target of Donald Trump’s wrath, after speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
“We all watched as the oldest and darkest forces of hate emerged in new ways, only to meet the strength, goodness and decency of this Gold Star American family,” Biden said Thursday. “After today, a father's Medal of Freedom will rest next to a son’s Bronze Star and Purple Heart.”
– Sandra Lindsay. Lindsay was the New York City nurse who rolled up her sleeve on live television in December 2020 to receive the first COVID-19 vaccine dose that was pumped into an arm in the United States.
— Diane Nash. A founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Nash organized some of the most important 20th century civil rights campaigns and worked with King.
— Alan Simpson. The retired U.S. senator from Wyoming served with Biden and has been a prominent advocate for campaign finance reform, responsible governance and marriage equality. A Republican, Biden told him Thursday: "We need more of your spirit on both sides of the aisle."
— Richard Trumka. Trumka had been president of the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade at the time of his August 2021 death. He was a past president of the United Mine Workers. Biden and Trumka were friends for 30 years, and the president called him “the guy you want in your corner.”
“Work was synonymous with the word that defined his life: dignity,” Biden said. “His work was fierce, always trying to do the right thing for working people, fighting for and protecting their wages, their safety, their pensions they earned and deserve.”
— Wilma Vaught. A brigadier general, Vaught is one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history, breaking gender barriers as she has risen through the ranks. When Vaught retired in 1985, she was one of only seven female generals in the Armed Forces.
– Denzel Washington. Washington is a double Oscar-winning actor, director and producer. He also has a Tony award, two Golden Globes and the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a longtime spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Washington did not receive his award in person at the White House on Thursday because of a positive COVID-19 test, an official said.
“One of our greatest actors in American history,” said Biden. “He couldn’t be here today, but we’re giving him this award at a later date when he’s able to get here.”
— Raúl Yzaguirre. A civil rights advocate, Yzaguirre was president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza for 30 years. He served as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Obama.