The nation’s capital scoffed at President Trump’s decision to bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Rush Limbaugh during his last State of the Union address, and then on congressional ultras Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes following his 2020 loss. Many saw this as a betrayal of an honor that is meant to symbolize the finest of America.
President Joe Biden, who was tasked with bringing back the traditional values of the president, released his own final list of Medal of Freedom and Presidential Citizens Medal recipients earlier this month, and surprisingly, there was a noticeable lack of criticism. It’s unfortunate because Biden’s laureates also come out as an attempt at a political slam against the new government at the last minute.
The organization resembles a miniature version of the social sectors that were unable to prevent Trump’s reelection, which is bad news for Biden’s party and legacy.
Take a look at the real lives of some of the most famous recipients: Anna Wintour of Vogue, who works in high-end media; David Rubenstein, a giant in the charitable sector; Bono and Michael J. Fox, who are activists in Hollywood; and Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, who are mainstays of the anti-Trump Jan. 6 group. Additionally, there is humanitarian chef José Andrés’s cosmopolitan cuisine, the still-vaguely-foreign sports of Argentina’s Lionel Messi, the late Michigan governor George Romney’s country-club Republicanism (represented at the ceremony by his Trump-averse son Mitt), and the Democratic pantheon of martyrs (represented at the ceremony by the late Robert F. Kennedy, not by his Trump-adoring son Bobby Junior).
Among them was none other than Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Some Republicans took offense by the inclusion of liberal cause financier and longtime target of conservative smear campaigns George Soros, and responded negatively to the selection. They believed it was trolling.
But that just serves to accelerate a tendency that has gained traction in the political battles of the modern era—a trend that Biden was meant to reverse. It wasn’t the first time Trump honored election skeptics when he was in the lame duck position: Former prime leaders Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and John Howard of Australia, who had supported the disastrous Iraq war that the new president had denounced, were presented with freedom medals by George W. Bush as he left the White House.
Even if they can’t alter the voters’ decisions, outgoing presidents can utilize this farewell event to highlight their priorities. In particular if it comprises an aspect that the new man is unlikely to approve of.
The most recent awardees of Vice President Biden are an impressive bunch. Notable figures in this group include the late civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, environmentalist Jane Goodall, and science educator Bill Nye of public television. Several members of the marriage equality campaign are also on the roster, which is something of which Biden is especially pleased but which strangely receives strangely little attention from certain progressives within his own party.
Still, the overall roster won’t be able to change people’s minds about the Democrats’ lack of relevance in the wake of the election. The items that Wintour and Andrés are selling aren’t exactly affordable for the average American, despite all the good they’ve done for culture and charity. Romney and Cheney’s Republicanism was unpopular and cost them the election. (The Democratic candidate also lost this year due to Cheney’s backing.)
The accolades bestowed upon Rubenstein and Soros were the most insensitive. While both men have made significant contributions to society, Biden’s support for unions is at odds with Rubenstein’s well-known advocacy for a tax loophole that allows private equity tycoons to evade taxes. Plus, the party’s post-election narrative should be that Elon Musk’s influence with the Trump administration is unsightly, and by welcoming billionaires in general, it undermines that theme.
Quite a few winners fit the stereotypical Biden profile as well. Chris Dodd and Nancy Landon Kassebaum were both presented the Presidential Citizen Medals by this long-serving senator.
Plus, some of them had additional links to the original people. Longtime Biden staffer Ted Kaufman, who temporarily served as Biden’s senator in the hopes that Beau, Biden’s son, would be given the seat, deserves the Citizen Medal. awarded example, the Medal of Freedom awarded Ralph Lauren, a legendary American fashion designer who also happened to be the designer of Naomi Biden’s wedding gown. (Moreover, the Biden administration has refused to confirm or deny whether Biden paid for his Thanksgiving stays at Rubenstein’s Nantucket residence.)
Criticizing a leaving president for cheering on his personal favorites as the curtain falls seems a bit churlish, especially when the winners in this case had already spent years at the top of respective industries. The nation’s highest civilian accolade is designed to highlight significant achievements to America, but the blatantly political mood makes it seem cheap.
According to Tevi Troy, who had experience working in the Bush White House, “there was a formal process where recs would come from NEA and NEH” when asked about the previous method of handling such accolades. There would be involvement from Bush’s office. They would definitely end up in Karl Rove’s office. To be clear, I did not believe the White House was selecting them. “I don’t really remember ever being offended by Democratic picks,” Troy remarked, claiming it was common across parties.
But it doesn’t mean the president’s own beliefs weren’t a factor. Democrats presented medals to labor leaders Lane Kirkland and Albert Shanker, while Republicans presented them to conservative thinkers James Q. Wilson and Norman Podhoretz. However, the group as a whole was remarkably non-partisan. Bob Dole, a previous Republican leader in the Senate, received an award from Bill Clinton, while Mike Mansfield, a former Democrat leader, received one from Ronald Reagan. Presidents were attempting to foster unity with these appointments, according to Troy, a scholar at the Ronald Reagan Institute and author of many books on the subject of the president.
I don’t see that trend returning any time soon, for better or worse.
Trump has a tendency to pick at America’s scabs, in contrast to Biden’s promise of a regular, old-school president and his termlong practice of awarding medals to former GOP giants like Alan Simpson and Elizabeth Dole. Among the recipients of the Medal of Freedom were conservatives who threw bombs, and there were surprisingly few Democrats among them. No one on Biden’s final roster is linked to the kind of vicious personal attacks that defined Limbaugh’s political career.
It would be surprising if things changed in Trump II, given the campaign’s tone and the interregnum.
Nonetheless, Trump did not pledge a return to the consensus-oriented traditions of the twentieth century, which would have restored ceremonies like the Medal of Freedom to its original form. As did Biden. His ultimate roster of winners is yet another letdown, despite the fact that it’s likely to be better than his successor’s.