For the last time as president, Joe Biden doled out the nation’s highest civilian honor on Saturday to a batch of recipients that included former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 18 other individuals known for their impact on policy, philanthropy and culture in the U.S. and around the world.
Biden said the honorees were “a group of truly extraordinary people who gave their sacred effort to shape the culture and the cause of America.”
“Let me just say to each of you: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you’ve done. You all literally embodied the nation’s creed: E pluribus unum, ‘out of many, one.’”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients also included: humanitarian and chef José Andrés, actor Denzel Washington, U2 frontman Bono, billionaire philanthropist George Soros, conservationist Jane Goodall, fashion icon Anna Wintour, science education advocate Bill Nye, writer George Stevens Jr., designer Ralph Lauren, soccer star Lionel Messi, basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, actor and Parkinson’s activist Michael J. Fox, entrepreneur and LGBTQ rights activist Tim Gill and businessman-philanthropist David M. Rubenstein.
Posthumous awards were given to the late senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, former Secretary of Defense Ashton Baldwin Carter, civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and businessman George Romney.
The audience gave Clinton a standing ovation. A statement from Biden’s office highlighted her achievements in advancing women’s rights as the first woman to cinch a major political party’s presidential nomination.
Biden was tasked with fastening the medals on each recipient in attendance. When it was “Magic” Johnson’s turn, the 6-foot-9-inch star was ready with a crouched position, prompting laughter.