With 16 days left in his half-century-long political career, President Biden is expected to bestow one of the nation’s highest honors Saturday on key members of the political, financial and celebrity circles to which he has long belonged.
President-elect Donald J. Trump succeeded Biden on Jan. 20, determined to continue his assault on an area Biden has long called a “swamp.” In 2016, President Trump vowed to wage war on establishment lawmakers from both parties who he said “received rewards from the government while the people shouldered the costs.”
But on Saturday, Mr. Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 Americans, including some of the brightest lights of veteran figures that Mr. Trump wants to topple. In doing so, the 82-year-old outgoing president is sending a clear message that he supports the democratic order that he says is threatened by Trump’s re-election.
Among those who received the award was former first lady, senator and secretary of state Hillary Clinton, whom Trump threatened to jail. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, whose son hugged President Trump; And there’s George Romney, the father of Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who has repeatedly rejected Mr. Trump’s actions and philosophy.
Like many presidents who have been awarded the Medal of Freedom, Mr. Biden is also among some of his party’s biggest fundraisers, including the largest Democratic donor, George Soros, a liberal activist billionaire cast by the Republican Party. will pay tribute to As the party’s evil puppet master.
That includes Anna Wintour, the media executive and cultural figure who put first lady Jill Biden on the cover of Vogue twice in the past four years and ousted Melania Trump during her husband’s presidency. Ms. Wintour is one of the fashion industry’s top fundraisers, having hosted Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign events in London and Paris last year.
President Biden will honor artists who have contributed to society, including singer Bono, actor Michael J. Fox, basketball legend Magic Johnson, and investor David M. Rubenstein. , will recognize musicians, sports figures, philanthropists, and more.
All modern presidents have awarded medals to those they deemed deserving, often when they were leaving the political scene for good or sometimes when they were ideologically inclined. Historians last see the president using a megaphone to tell Americans: This is someone we should respect and emulate.
After President Trump was elected in 2016, President Barack Obama awarded medals to NBA star Michael Jordan, actors Tom Hanks, and Robert De Niro. Previously, President Obama presented this award to Biden, who served as Vice President.
Four years later, as President Trump left office, he awarded medals to two professional golfers: Reps. Devin Nunes of California and Jim Jordan of Ohio, Olympians and some of the fiercest Republicans in Congress.
But Mr. Biden’s use of presidential privilege seemed more explicit than that of some of his predecessors.
His decision to posthumously award Kennedy the medal could be read as a rebuke to Kennedy’s son, perhaps a member of America’s most famous Democratic family. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to support President Trump during the campaign, despite criticism from most of his relatives, helped President Trump select him for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The White House noted that the elder Romney, a Republican, served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation and later served as governor of Michigan and secretary of Housing and Urban Development. But he was also the father of the young Mr. Romney, the only Republican to vote twice to convict Mr. Trump after two impeachments.
The award to Mr. Romney reflects Mr. Biden’s decision this week to award one of America’s highest civilian honors, the Presidential Citizen’s Medal, to Rep. Liz Cheney for her efforts to hold President Trump accountable for his actions during the terrorist attacks. . 2021 National Assembly Building.
Both awards, given by Democratic presidents to prominent Republicans, were intended to give President Biden the kind of public relations boost that has largely been reserved for President Trump since the election.
The same was true in the case of Mr. Soros. By awarding him the medal, Mr. Biden is acknowledging how important the investor and philanthropist has been to the Democratic Party. This is something many members of Mr. Biden’s own party have been wary of, fearing that Mr. Trump and other Republicans would seize on it as evidence of the conspiratorial control they claim to have.
But Mr. Biden seems willing to ignore those concerns. Weeks after President Trump introduced the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, as one of his close associates, President Biden seems eager to say: We also have billionaires.
Mr. Soros has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on progressive politics since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. The ruling unleashed a flood of money into politics from corporations and the wealthy people who run them. Mr. Soros and his family decisively sided with Mr. Biden immediately after his disastrous debate performance last year.
The White House was more blunt about Soros, focusing on the Open Society Foundation he founded, saying, “Soros is an organization that strengthens democracy, human rights, education, and society around the world through his network of foundations.” “We have supported the project,” he said. righteousness.”
Other major backers include software entrepreneur Tim Gill. He is one of the gay community’s most important donors, working to advance LGBTQ rights first in his home state of Colorado and then nationally. He donated $355,000 to the Biden Victory Fund during the 2020 primary.
Theodor Schleifer contributed to the report.
