Joe Biden presents Hillary Clinton, and 18 others with Presidential Medal of Freedom
US President Joe Biden has awarded Hillary Clinton the nation’s highest civilian honour in a move which has sparked outrage.
US President Joe Biden has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour, to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and billionaire Democratic megadonor George Soros at a White House ceremony on Saturday.
The White House said Ms Clinton, Mr Soros and the 17 other recipients of the prestigious award are “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 endeavours.”
“President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else,” the White House said in a statement.
U2 lead singer Bono, soccer star Lionel Messi, Vogue icon Anna Wintour and NBA legend Magic Johnson were also recipients of the award, the NY Post reports.
Ms Clinton, 77, received the medal nearly 12 years after her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was bestowed the honour by former President Barack Obama.
The former first lady, secretary of state and New York senator “made history many times over decades in public service,” the White House said.
The move has sparked outrage online, with Montana’s new Senator Tim Sheehy also letting his feelings known.
“Hillary Clinton abandoned our Navy SEALs in Libya and George Soros spent millions electing soft-on-crime politicians that let criminals wreak havoc in our major cities,” he said.
“Joe Biden’s decision to give Hillary Clinton and George Soros the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a national disgrace.”
Missouri senator Josh Hawley also expressed his outrage to the NY Post.
“Joe Biden is spending his final days in office asking ‘how can I disgrace myself even more?’ And this is just the latest example. Hillary Clinton should have been prosecuted, not celebrated with the nation’s highest civilian honor,” he said.
In 2016, Ms Clinton made history when she became the first woman nominated for president by a major United States political party.
Her bid to become the nation’s first female president came up short when President-elect Donald Trump defeated her in the 2016 race.
Ms Clinton was the subject of an FBI probe over her use of a private email server during her time in the Obama administration but was never charged with a crime.
At the conclusion of the bureau’s investigation, former FBI Director James Comey said that Clinton and her colleagues were “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information” but that the FBI “did not find clear evidence that Ms Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information.”
Mr Soros, 94, has been one of the most prolific fundraisers for the Democratic Party in recent history.
The Hungarian-born hedge-fund billionaire gave more than US$175 million to Democrats during the 2022 midterms, according to Federal Election Commission records.
In 2024, Mr Soros funnelled another US$60 million for House and Senate Democrats and other left-wing causes through his Democracy PAC, records show.
Mr Soros, who has shifted tens of billions of dollars of his personal net worth over to his Open Society Foundations, which funds a multitude of progressive projects around the world, has also heavily invested in races to install far-left district attorneys in major American cities.
Soros-backed DAs, including Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg and Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner, have been criticised by Republicans for pursuing priorities such as criminal justice reform over prosecuting criminals.
The left-wing investor has also come under fire for funnelling tens of millions of dollars to groups supporting anti-Israel protesters on college campuses.
The White House described Mr Soros as “a philanthropist who four decades ago founded the Open Society Foundations” and “through his network of foundations … has supported organisations, and projects across the world that strengthen democracy, human rights, education, and social justice.”
Mr Biden, 82, will also award medals to several Hollywood A-listers, superstar athletes and American cultural icons at Saturday’s ceremony, including:
• Bono, the frontman of rock band U2
• Michael J. Fox, the “Back to the Future” star
• Earvin “Magic” Johnson, a Los Angeles Lakers legend
• Ralph Lauren, the visionary fashion designer
• Lionel Messi, the MLS star and captain of Argentina’s World Cup-winning soccer team
• Denzel Washington, the Academy-Award-winning actor
• Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue
• William Sanford Nye, the television presenter better known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy
• Robert Francis Kennedy, the slain former New York senator and US Attorney-General
• Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist and anthropologist
• David M. Rubenstein, the billionaire co-founder of The Carlye Group
• José Andrés, the celebrity chef and founder of the World Central Kitchen charity group
• Ashton Baldwin Carter, the former Defense Secretary
• Tim Gill, an entrepreneur whose work has advanced LGBT rights
• George W. Romney, the late businessman and former Michigan governor
• George Stevens, Jr., an author and playwright
• Fannie Lou Hamer, the late civil rights leader and founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
- This article originally appeared in The NY Post and was reproduced with permission
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