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President Joe Biden<\/strong> presented the nation\u2019s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 18 recipients at the White House on Saturday\u2014celebrating leaders in politics, humanitarianism, and entertainment. With honorees ranging from Ralph Lauren<\/strong> to Jane Goodall<\/strong>, it\u2019s the last time Biden will hand out the prestigious award.<\/p>\n \u201cAs cultural icons, dignified statesmen, humanitarians, rock stars, sports stars, you feed the hungry, you give hope to those that are hurting, and you craft the signs and sounds of our movements and our memories,\u201d Biden said, addressing the crowd in the East Room, just weeks before he\u2019ll be leaving office. The nineteenth recipient is Argentinian professional football player Lionel Messi<\/strong>, who was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts, according to the White House.<\/p>\n In the past, this recognition has been used by presidents to honor<\/a> cultural legends, political activists, and others at the top of their fields. Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama<\/strong> awarded 118 people with the honor, the most of any president, to people like Maya Angelou, Bob Dylan<\/strong>, Bill Gates<\/strong>, Billie Jean King<\/strong>, Oprah Winfrey<\/strong>, and his running mate, then-vice president Biden. During Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s years in office, he bestowed 24 Presidential Medals of Freedom. His awardees included Rush Limbaugh, Elvis Presley, Tiger Woods<\/strong>, and Antonin Scalia, amongst others.<\/p>\n Biden used the honor to recognize just under 60 individuals, including Simone Biles<\/strong>, Michael Bloomberg<\/strong>, John McCain, Nancy Pelosi<\/strong>, and Michelle Yeoh<\/strong>.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Biden awarded several former political leaders. Hillary Clinton<\/strong>, who has served as first lady, senator, and secretary of state and made history as the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party, received a standing ovation<\/a> when Biden placed the medal around her neck.<\/p>\n Biden also posthumously honored Ash Carter, who served as the 25th Secretary of Defense; former attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy, whose son, RFK Jr.,<\/strong> has embraced Trump and hopes to serve in his administration; George Romney, the late father of former senator Mitt Romney<\/strong> who served as the 43rd Governor of Michigan and the 3rd Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and Fannie Lou Hamer, the civil rights activist who famously said she was \u201csick and tired of being sick and tired.\u201d<\/p>\n