This year’s class of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients includes individuals such as Team USA swimmer Katie Ledecky, civil rights leader Medgar Evers, and television host Phil Donahue, among others.
During the awards ceremony at the White House, President Joe Biden, 81, encouraged Ledecky, 27, not to let age hinder her pursuit of more medals, stating, “Age is just a number, kid.”
The honoree list acknowledges notable “firsts” in various fields, including Michelle Yeoh, the first Asian to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space, and Jim Thorpe, the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal in 1912.
Biden also recognized key political allies such as Representative Jim Clyburn and Nancy Pelosi, as well as former presidential candidates like Elizabeth Dole, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Michael Bloomberg.
Highlighting Gore’s concession in the 2000 election as an act of unity, Biden subtly contrasted it with the refusal of ex-President Donald Trump to concede the 2020 election, noting, “The last two guys should be standing here at this podium.”
