US President Joe Biden on Tuesday welcomed a high-wattage collection of singers, authors, artists and humanitarians to the White House to present them with medals — and then stole the show himself with a quip about seeking re-election.
Bruce Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling and Gladys Knight were among the 22 people and organizations honored.
When novelist Colson Whitehead’s award was announced, Biden noted that the author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys has already won back-to-back Pulitzer Prizes.
Photo: AP
The president, who is expected to announce for re-election this spring, quickly picked it up.
“Pretty good man,” he told Whitehead.
“I’m kind of looking for a back-to-back myself,” he added, drawing a laugh from the audience.
It was a feel-good event in the East Room, as the honorees stepped forward to receive their awards one by one. Louis-Dreyfus, who channeled Biden’s resume when she starred in Veep, jokingly sagged under the weight when the president placed the medal for the arts around her neck.
“Wow,” she exclaimed.
Springsteen, with his everyman persona, looked incongruous in a black suit.
He was lauded for “his extraordinary contributions to the American songbook, and for being ‘The Boss.’”
Poet and author Richard Blanco stunned in a teal tuxedo. Knight, the “empress of soul,” gave the president a giant hug when he put the medal around her neck.
Jaclyn Sallee, who received the medal on behalf of Native America Calling, a podcast and radio show, beamed with pride.
So did social historian Earl Lewis, who, Biden said, chronicles African-American history and “explores how diversity strengthens our nation.”
Biden joked that he opens his closet to find one honoree, designer Vera Wang, inside — her clothes, anyway — then said: “Your dresses always look beautiful on my wife.”
The medals are Biden’s first batch of awards for the arts and humanities and were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The president surprised Sir Elton John with a National Humanities Medal during a White House musical event in September last year. He told the crowd how important their work was, in keeping American culture alive and reminding people of our history — even the parts we would like to forget. The honorees’ work includes dance, art, design, history, as well as music, writing and philanthropy.
“You do make the country better, you make it a better place,” Biden told the crowd before they departed for a White House reception.
The honorees did not perform or speak to the crowd after they received their awards, but the US Marine Corps band that often plays for East Room ceremonies did orchestral numbers of Springsteen hits Born to Run and Born in the USA.
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