Former Vice President Joe Biden criticized President Trump for awarding conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh the Medal of Freedom, calling it a “shameful display.”
“In one fell swoop, Trump delivered a speech worthy of the worst demagogue and turned his constitutional obligation to inform Congress about the state of our union into an episode of reality television,” Biden said in a statement responding to President Trump State of the Union address. “He even awarded our nation’s highest civilian honor, not to the real American hero in the gallery — one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen—but a conservative media personality who has done as much as Trump himself to divide our nation. It was a shameful display.”
Biden response came following President Trump during his address awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Limbaugh, just a day after the conservative talk radio host announced he is battling stage 4 lung cancer.
“Rush Limbaugh, thank you for your decades of tireless devotion to our country,” Trump said during his address. “Rush, in recognition of all that you have done for our nation, the millions of people a day that you speak to and inspire, and all of the incredible work that you have done for charity, I am proud to announce tonight that you will be receiving our country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
The move was met with a standing ovation and cheers from Republicans as Democrats remained seated. As Melania fastened the medal’s blue ribbon around Rush’s neck, someone on the House floor shouted, “Thank you, Rush.”
“The Rush Limbaugh Show,” is the most-listened-to radio talk show in the U.S., according to Nielsen Audio, reaching more than 20 million monthly listeners on more than 650 affiliates. It is distributed by iHeartMedia’s Premiere Networks and airs for three hours each weekday.
Joe BidenMedal of FreedomPresident TrumpRush LimbaughSOTUState of the UnionState of the Union 2020
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