WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama surprised an emotional Vice President Joe Biden Thursday by presenting him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, during a White House ceremony.
“I just wanted to get some folks together to pay tribute,” President Obama said at the ceremony. “It also gives the internet one last chance to talk about our bromance,” he joked.
“If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person you’ve got a problem,” Obama said. “He’s as good a man as God ever created.”
Before surprising his vice president with the medal, Obama gave lengthy and colorful remarks praising Biden, along with his wife Dr. Jill Biden, his children and his grandchildren.
The president also reflected on his decision to choose Biden as his vice president, saying, “There has not been a single time that I’ve doubted the wisdom of that decision … this is an extraordinary man.”