POTUS to Award Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 Outstanding Civilians [VIDEO]
President Joe Biden will present the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 17 people, including actor Denzel Washington, gymnast Simone Biles, and the late John McCain, the Arizona Republican with whom the President served in the U.S. Senate.
The President will also honor Sandra Lindsay, the New York City nurse who rolled up her sleeve on live television in December 2020 to receive the first COVID-19 vaccine dose given in the United States, the White House announced Friday. The honor 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.
The medals are awarded at the discretion of the sitting President, and President Biden himself is a medal recipient. President Barack Obama surprised his then-VP by honoring his lifetime of public service by awarding him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2017, a week before they left office.
President Biden has announced new recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, including:
Simone Biles
Sister Simone Campbell
Fmr. Rep. Gabby Giffords
Khizr Khan
John McCain
Megan Rapinoe
Richard Trumka— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 1, 2022
President Biden’s honors list, which the White House shared with the press, includes both living and deceased honorees from the worlds of Hollywood, sports, politics, the military, academia, and civil rights and social justice advocacy. Aside from McCain, other posthumous honors will go to Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., and Richard Trumka, who served as president of the AFL-CIO.
Biden will award Simone Biles and Megan Rapinoe the nation’s highest civilian honor as part of his first slate of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients.
Here's the full list👇 https://t.co/iqkoDv19zA pic.twitter.com/4dwlxPL0qJ
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) July 1, 2022
Other honorees include Khizr Khan, the father of a fallen Muslim U.S. Army captain; U.S. soccer player Megan Rapinoe; and former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived horrific gun violence.
National treasure, Civil Rights icon & Montgomery native, Attorney Fred Gray will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom!
Attorney Gray's legal legacy accounts for some of the most seminal civil rights victories in history.#montgomeryal #ourmgm #newmontgomery pic.twitter.com/O78iBadsos
— City of Montgomery (@CityofMGM) July 1, 2022
The President will present the medals at a ceremony at the White House on July 7th.
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