WASHINGTON (Michigan News Source) – In the final days of his tenure, President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 people, including late Michigan Gov. George Romney and basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
What is the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
According to a White House press release, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s “highest civilian honor” and 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.”
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President Biden handed out the medals at a White House ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 4.
Michiganders on display.
The late George W. Romney, former Michigan governor and businessman, received his medal posthumously. His son, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney, accepted the medal in honor of his father’s honor.
Professional basketball standout and former Michigan State University basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson was also presented an award for his philanthropic work.
Recipients in the arts and sciences.
Other honorees represented everything from music and politics, to education and the arts.
Musicians and actors/artists include Bono (member of the rock band U2 and activist), George Stevens, Jr. (writer, director, author, and playwright), Denzel Washington (actor, director, producer, and preacher), and Michael J. Fox (actor and Parkinson’s disease research advocate).
David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, represented the business sector. He stood alongside Tim Gill, an entrepreneur and LGBTQI advocate, Spanish-American culinary innovator José Andrés, as well as fashion icons Ralph Loren and Anna Wintour.
The most decorated player in the history of professional soccer, Lionel Messi, received a medal as well.
Other well-known names included scientists and conservationists Dr. Jane Goodall and William Sanford Nye, a.k.a. “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
Political recipients raise eyebrows.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, former first lady, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State, is a longtime Democratic party supporter. In a worlds collide moment, she received her medal while sporting the Ralph Lauren pantsuits she wore at the September 2016 debate with Trump.
George Soros, an American billionaire, has long funded anti-American and progressive political movements.
The late Ashton Baldwin Carter (25th Secretary of Defense), the late Fannie Lou Hamer (founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party), and the late Robert Francis Kennedy (former attorney general, U.S. Senator, and Democratic presidential candidate), were awarded medals posthumously.
What’s next?
Congress will certify the results of the Nov. 5 election on Monday. Trump will officially take office on Jan. 20.
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