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Biden Awards Highest Civilian Honor to 17 Americans. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired July 07, 2022 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, when she wins again, I hope when I see her, she'll say, I think I know that guy.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: Maybe? It depends. It depends.
(LAUGHTER)
MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. OLYMPIC SOCCER PLAYER: I think, yes.
BIDEN: Megan did something really consequential. She helped lead the change for perhaps the most important victory for anyone on her soccer team or any soccer team, equal pay for women. Equal pay.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: And Megan, like Simone, I hope there's room for this medal among all the awards you've received during your remarkable career and reckless play.
I've watched you. My lord, you have such -- you are good, kid.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: Simone and Megan would be the first to acknowledge they stand on the shoulders of those who came before them, like Air Force colonel brigadier general, retired, Wilma Vaught.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: Wilma is one of the most decorated women ever to serve in the United States military. She enlisted in 1950s because she wanted to be a leader.
She did that and more, becoming the first woman in almost every leadership role she held in her 30 years in uniform. Shattering conventions, shaping a new tradition of our military.
And she couldn't stop after retirement. She led to the creation of the women's military service for American memorial at the gateway of Arlington National Cemetery, the first museum of its kind so that we may know and be inspired by not just her story but by the stories of millions of women who served this nation in uniform.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: As a 23-year-old student at Fisk University, Diane Nash received a phone call from Attorney General Robert Kennedy's top deputies, warning her about the violence at the next stop of the freedom ride she organized across the south.
She replied, and I quote, "We all signed our last will and testament before they left. We know someone will be killed, but we cannot let violence overcome nonviolence."
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: Think of that. Unmistakable courage and unshakable courage and leadership. Diane Nash shaped some of the most important civil right efforts in American history.
Key architect of the sit-in movement in Nashville. After four little girls were murdered at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, she called for a nonviolent movement across Alabama that planted the seeds and became the Selma campaign two years later.
Her activism echoes the call of freedom around the world today. And yet, she is the first to say the medal is shared with hundreds of thousands of patriotic Americans who sacrificed so much for the cause of liberty and justice for all.
And by the way, she asked me to make sure to add that because she didn't want to take all the credit herself.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: When Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and Claudette and John Lewis and other giants of the civil right movement needed a lawyer, you know who they called? They called a guy named Fred Gray, that's who they called.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: One of the most important civil rights lawyers in our history. Fred's legal brilliance and strategy desegregated schools and secured the right to vote. He went to be elected as one of the first African Americans in the Alabama state legislature since Reconstruction.
An ordained minister, he imbued a righteous calling that touched the soul of our nation. And at 91 years young, he's still practicing law.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: And he's still keeping the faith in the best of America.
And the best of America includes Raul - Raul, you're something else, man. You really are. You really are.
Raul was the son of a father who fled violence in Mexico and a mother who was a multigeneration Texan. Raul dreamed the American dream from San Juan, Texas, in the lower Rio Grande Valley.
He served with honor in the United States Air Force, then turned a small civil rights group into one of the nation's most important ones.
For over 30 years as president of the National Council for La Raza, Raul was an undaunted lead in the struggle for civil rights for Latino Americans.
Challenging the powerful on behalf of the powerless. Never forgetting where he came from and the promise of this nation.
[14:34:58]
Born in Brownsville, Texas, Julieta Garcia became a professor at a local community college. I know I'm biased since Jill's a community college professor, but community college professors are the best. That's --
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: And I've learned teaching isn't what she or Jill does, it's who they are. It's who Julieta is.
Over the course of her nearly 30-year career, she helped transform her community college into the University of Texas at Brownsville, where she became its president and the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president in American history.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: Believing education is the cornerstone of our democracy, she created a culture of excellence, affirmation, and intellectual curiosity for generations of students, many the first in their families to go to college and who see their American dream through her and because of her.
Other than my family, the biggest impact in my life were the nuns at Holy Rose at the Sisters of St. Joseph in Claymont, Delaware. You think I'm joking. I'm not. Nuns never forget a thing. Never.
And by the way, I was doing Villanova's commencement and one of my nuns from school was getting her doctorate degree. I presented it to her, and she said, that was pretty good, Joe, if you had said you instead of me at the time.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: They taught me in school and they helped me. I used to stutter very badly. They gave me confidence. They gave me confidence that I could do anything. They really did. For so many people and for the nation, Sister Simone Campbell is a
gift from God. In fact --
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: In the past 50 years, she embodied the belief in our church that faith without works is dead. And you will know me for what I do. And what you do, the least of these, you do unto me.
That's Sister Simone. That's what she does. The nuns on the bus were simply, simply remarkable.
I wasn't going to do this, they told me not to, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going to tell a story.
I went over to see Pope John -- excuse me -- Pope Benedict in his last couple months. We didn't know it at the time. And we had a long conversation. And he's a great theologian, a very conservative theologian.
And my avocation is theology. You come to my house, there's a whole wall on comparative theology. I know.
And so we finished the conversation. He was very generous, and he put his hand across the desk and said, can I ask you a favor? At the time, I was vice president. I said, of course, Your Holiness.
He said, I'd like some advice. Do you have any advice for me? I said, it would be presumptuous of me to give you advice, Your Holiness. He said, no, really.
And I smiled, and I said, well, one piece of advice. I said, I'd go easy on the nuns. They're more popular than you are.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: The fact that six weeks later, he retired, I don't know if it had anything to do with it.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: But, Sister, your standing up is a big deal. A big, big deal.
Becoming a lawyer to represent the poor and the left behind a decade ago as a nation was debating the Affordable Care Act and the values of our budgets, there she was, leading a group of nuns on a nationwide bus campaign.
To make the case, the moral case, that health care is a right in this country, not a privilege, and the obligation to help other people most in need.
Compassionate and brave, humble and strong, today, Sister Simone remains a beacon of light. She's the embodiment of a covenant of trust, hope, and progress of our nation. And I call her -- I'm happy to call her my friend. Thank you, Sister.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: Another dear friend of mine and the reason why, back in Delaware, in the Greek community, I'm known as Joe Bidenopolis. You think I'm joking. Father knows I'm not.
Father asked me whether if I'm still blessing my -- roman Catholics bless ourselves down here to the left shoulder. Greek Catholics go down and to the right shoulder. I find myself being more Greek sometimes than others. It gets me in trouble.
You want to know how I left? Father Karloutsos (ph), you, more than 50 years, your leadership in the Greek Orthodox archdiocese of America has mattered to every prelate in the Greek church.
You've been an incredible leader, Father.
A man of deep moral clarity and calling, he's advised generations of presidents and parishioners with unmatched humility and grace.
I've traveled the country and the world with him, including Father Alex's homeland in Greece, to strengthen the bonds between two nations founded on the belief that democracy is the way.
[14:40:07]
And on more than one occasion, Father Alex and I have had the honor to visit His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew. Which was a great honor. This is the 100th anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.
We honor one of the most dedicated leaders, my dear friend, Father Alex.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: Speaking of faith, when you meet Gabby Giffords, Congresswoman Giffords, you're reminded of the strength of faith --
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: -- and the power of public service.
Elected by the people of her hometown in Tucson, Arizona, because they trusted her. They trusted her. They still trust her. They believed in her.
They learned -- and they learned as a nation what the whole nation has learned that she's the embodiment of the most -- of a single significant American trait, never, ever give up. My dad, Hunter's grandfather, used to have an expression. He said,
never bend, never bow, never yield, never give up. Just get up, Joey. Just get up.
Proof that we'll not grow numb to the epidemic of gun violence in this nation, proof that we can channel the pain and sorrow we see too often in America into a movement that will prevail.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: With her husband, United States Senator Mark Kelly, who, by the way, was that astronaut, you all remember. She's more consequential, I acknowledge.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: But they're helping power that movement.
On Monday, we'll celebrate the most significant gun safety law in 30 years because of them and because of the families like theirs all across America.
Gabby is one most courageous people I have ever known.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: One of the most decent, stand-up genuine guys I've ever served with is this guy, Alan Simpson. Alan is the real deal.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: Former United States Senator from his beloved Wyoming, Republican, We served together in the United States Senate for nearly two decades.
One of the great things about Alan is he never takes himself too seriously, nor takes me seriously.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: All kidding aside, this is the real deal. This is one of the finest men I've ever worked with.
At his core, he's always believed in the common good and what's best for the nation. We didn't agree on everything. We agreed on a whole heck of a lot.
He allowed his -- he never allowed his -- I don't know, his party or his state or anything to get in the way of what he thought was right. He allowed his conscience to be his guide.
And he believed in forging real relationships, even with people on the other side of the aisle, proving we can do anything when we work together as the United States of America. It matters, it matters, it matters.
We need more of your spirit back in the United States Senate on both sides of the aisle.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: Just ask Khizr Khan, who studied the U.S. Constitution as a law student in Pakistan. Inspired by its meaning, he immigrated to America with his wife and their young family when they were very little but fully believing in the promise of this nation.
They watched their middle son enlist in the United States Army with his own dreams to be a military lawyer, but ultimately sacrificed himself to serve his fellow soldiers.
We all watched as the oldest and darkest forces of hate emerged in new ways, only to meet the strength, goodness, and decency of this Gold Star American family.
Late November 2016, I invited the Khans to the vice president's residence for a Diwali reception. An Irish Catholic vice president, a Muslim Gold Star family at a reception observing a Hindu holiday.
That -- and I'm being very serious -- that's the America that we know. That's the America he and I and most of you, I pray God, believe in.
We were parents, united by the pain of losing a piece of our souls and finding the purpose to live a life worthy of them.
After today's father's Medal of Freedom will rest next to his son's Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
[14:44:58]
And Khizr Khan, you will continue to carry a copy of the Constitution -- I didn't ask you, but I imagine it's still in your pocket -- as a reminder of the charge that has to be kept.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: When she was 18 years old, Sandra Lindsay immigrated to Queens, New York, from Jamaica to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse.
As director of nursing and critical care at a hospital in Queens, during the height of the pandemic, she poured her heart into helping patients fight for their lives and to keep their fellow nurses safe.
And when the time came, she was the first person in America that fully vaccinated outside of clinical trials.
Sandra, as I told you before, if there's any angels in heaven, they're all nurses, male and female. No, for real. They really are.
Many of you who have spent a lot of time in the hospital, as some of us have, you know. Doctors let you live. Nurses, male and female, make you want to live. Make you want to live.
Sandra's vaccination card and hospital scrubs and badge are part of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History exhibit on COVID- 19.
Today, she receives our nation's highest civilian honor.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: And the man who couldn't be here today but wanted to be, Denzel Washington. One of our greatest actors in American history, Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Tony Awards, wide acclaim and admiration from audiences and peers around the world.
He couldn't be us today, but I'm -- I'll be giving him this award at a later date when he's able to get here.
I'll now turn to the three medalists who are being awarded the medals posthumously.
To the families I know receiving this award on behalf of their loved one is bittersweet. It's an honor but it brings back everything and it's hard. It reminds you of the day that you lost them.
But I know -- and I appreciate your willingness to be here on this day.
We've already seen more technological changes in the last 10 years than almost ever before in history. We're going to see a lot more change in the next 10 years.
And much, much more of that is because of Steve Jobs. Not just because --
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: Not just because of his innovations and inventions revolutionized personal computing and our way of life.
It's for his embodiment of a core American character that he believed was within each of us, character that tested -- got tested in setback and failure, character that's true and perseverance and daring, character defined by what we leave on this earth when our time comes.
And what Steve left us is something special, technology with the capacity to improve our lives in ways that haven't even yet been thought of, and the love of his family, Lorraine Powell Jobs, and their children, who I had the great honor of working with when I was doing the Cancer Moon Shot in the previous administration.
They carry on this incredible legacy of doing big things, perhaps biggest of all, helping us end cancer as we know it. Because it matters.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: It matters to people who need help. And it mattered to Steve Jobs.
Richard Trumka. He said about unions, quote, "We do America's work." No one did more work for American workers than he did.
From Rich --
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: His work was synonymous with the word that defined his life. Dignity. Dignity.
Dignity to come to the good-paying job that builds a good and decent middle-class life.
And his work was fierce, always trying to do the right thing for working people, fighting for and protecting their wages, their safety, their pensions they earned and deserved.
Fighting for the worker power and for America itself and our economic might and dynamism. In more than 30 years of friendship, he's always honest, fair, tough and trustworthy, a guy you want in your corner.
In fact, I was in Cleveland yesterday, announcing one of the most significant actions to protect pensions for millions of workers and retirees in 50 years.
Barbara Rich Jr and the family, we felt him there. We felt him there with us, and we talked about him, and we feel him here today. Rich Trumka was the American worker.
[14:50:05]
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: When I was a young man, too young to be serving in the Senate but old enough to get elected -- you can't get -- you can't be sworn in until you turn 30 but I got elected 17 days before that.
I had the great honor because of a guy named Mansfield, the majority leader from Montana, to put me on a very coveted committee at the time, the Foreign Relations Committee.
That's when I first met John McCain a couple years later. He was a Navy liaison in the United States Senate. Liaison to our committee.
John and I traveled the world together, literally, traveled the world together. We became friends. We agreed on a lot more than we disagreed on.
And although he was my Navy liaison, I turned to him for advice when we were talking about foreign policy issues abroad.
But the two things we never talked about, we never talked about his imprisonment in the Hanoi Hilton, nor the death of my wife and my daughter.
Somehow we seemed to understand one another. It was a long time ago. We both wanted to make things better for the country that we both loved and that never wavered. In fact, I admit to my Democratic friends, I'm the guy that encouraged
John to go home and run for office for real. Because I knew what incredible courage, intellect and conscience he had.
We used to argue like hell on the Senate floor. But then we'd go down and have lunch together afterwards, if you remember.
We ran against each other, which I didn't like, on both tickets for the highest office in the land. I was a candidate for vice president and he was a candidate for president.
I never stopped admiring John, never said a negative thing about him in my life because I knew his honor, his courage and his commitment. That was John McCain.
And the code he inherited from his family that served before him that passed down to his brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren today.
Cindy, Madam Ambassador, and family, I'm honored to have you accept this medal on behalf.
As they say in the Senate, a point of personal privilege, I was staffing, John was staff manager to Asia the late '70s and we stop in Hawaii.
And, Cindy, I think you were there on vacation, and you were talking to my wife, Jill.
And John kept looking at her.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: And he talked about her. So, Jill and I did something, which was a little presumptuous, we made sure that we introduced one another. He still owes me.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: I think that was the best thing we ever did for John. The very best.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: That's true. He didn't take long to call you, did it, when we got back?
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: My fellow Americans please congratulate this year's most Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: Now I'm going to ask the military aide to read the rest of the citations as we present the medals.
Please be seated.
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: Simone Biles.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: Overcoming great odds, Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history. A former foster child who became a once-in-a-generation athlete transforming her sport with artistry and degrees of difficulty that reimagine what is possible.
With absolute courage and honesty, she expands the legacy of our greatest champions who challenged the powerful and speak up for justice and the wellness of body and mind.
Leaning on faith and God and family, Simone Biles in is an inspiring symbol of strength, grace and pride in those three letters, USA.
[14:55:02]
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: Simone Campbell.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: Inspired by nuns in Catholic school, Sister Simone Campbell has dedicated her life to the suffering and the searching.
For nearly 50 years, as a nun and an attorney, she has led organizations that provide free legal services to the poor and advocates for workers and immigrants.
Her moral courage helped passed the Affordable Care Act and guide the nuns on a bus tour across America to protect the impoverished.
With humility and fearlessness, Sister Simone embodies the blessing of faith in God and our obligations to one another as fellow Americans.
(APPLAUSE)
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: Julieta Garcia.
(APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: Born in a Texas border town, Dr. Julieta Garcia became the first in her family to graduate from college and the first Mexican-American woman to lead an American college or university.
Over two decades, she transformed her hometown University of Texas Brownsville into a center of excellence for countless students who were inspired by her example.
A trailblazer and a mentor, Dr. Garcia is considered one of our nation's top university administrators who understands the power of education as the equalizer in America.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: Gabrielle Giffords.
(APPLAUSE)
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: A daughter of Tucson, Arizona, former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords epitomizes public service. Voters elected her five times to state and federal office.
Even after that January day in 2011 that shocked our nation's conscience, she summoned the courage to keep serving. She learned to walk, speak and write again.
With the support of her husband, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, she turned pain into purpose as one of the most powerful voices working to end gun violence in America. Because of her, lives will be saved and America will be safer.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
[14:59:50]
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY AIDE: Fred David Gray.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
