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Singer Bruce Springsteen, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus among 22 honoured by POTUS Joe Biden
The medals are Biden’s first batch of awards for the arts and humanities and were delayed by the pandemic
Bruce Springsteen with Joe Biden
President Joe Biden welcomed a high-wattage collection of singers, authors, artists and humanitarians to the White House on Tuesday 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 being honoured. 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.
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.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus smiles after being awarded with the 2021 National Medal of Arts
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, according to the president, 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 pandemic. The president surprised Sir Elton John with a National Humanities Medal during a White House musical event last September. He told the crowd how important their work was, in keeping American culture alive and reminding people of our history - even the parts we'd 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 U.S. Marine Corps band that often plays for East Room ceremonies did orchestral numbers of Springsteen hits Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A.
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