President Obama Stuns Vice President Biden With Highest Civilian Honor

President Barack Obama presented Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday, the highest honor a civilian can receive.

According to the New York Times, President Obama requested Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill, to come to a surprise ceremony in order to say goodbye to the outgoing vice president. Biden had no inclination that he would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was moved to tears when Obama presented the honor to him.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, has only been bestowed with distinction to three people before Biden. The previous recipients include Pope John Paul II; former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who served during the George W. Bush administration; and former president Ronald Reagan.

During his Tuesday farewell address, President Obama remarked on his close friendship with Vice President Biden. “To Joe Biden, the scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware’s favorite son: You were the first choice I made as a nominee, and the best,” Obama said. “Not just because you have been a great vice president, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother.”

Obama’s praise during his farewell speech carried over to Thursday’s ceremony. President Obama proclaimed that Biden was the “best vice president America has ever had” and called Biden a “lion of American history.” The president also touched on Biden’s numerous accomplishments throughout his political career, including his almost 40-year career as a Delaware senator and eight years as vice president during the Obama administration.

Throughout Thursday’s farewell ceremony, Biden was misty and emotional, but when Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the vice president openly wept. Biden, who was so dumbstruck, took a moment to compose himself before stepping up to the podium to accept the honor. “I had no inkling,” Biden said when presented with the medal.

.@POTUS awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to @VP: https://t.co/XK7uEUOuhq

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) January 12, 2017

The inscription on the medal mentioned Biden’s almost half century of public service, his championing of the middle class, the fight for a fair justice system, and his mission to provide protection for women under the Violence Against Women Act. The Violence Against Women Act, which is largely considered one of Biden’s greatest accomplishments in the Senate, allocated funds to investigate crimes against women. The act also provides legal aid for survivors, the federal rape shield law, and protects domestic violence and rape survivors on tribal lands.

Biden repaid Obama’s compliment by telling the president, “I tell everybody, and I have told them from the beginning, and I am not saying this to reciprocate: I have never known a president, and few people I have ever met in my whole life ? I can count on less than one hand ? who have had the integrity and the decency and the sense of other people’s needs like you do.”

“I just hope that the asterisk in history that is attached to my name when they talk about this presidency is that I can say I was part of the journey of a remarkable man who did remarkable things for this country,” Biden continued. “Remarkable things.”

Biden and Obama grew extremely close during their eight years in the White House. Although Obama has vowed to remain involved in the political sphere once President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, it’s unclear at this point what Vice President Biden will decide to do.

Biden ran for president in 1988, but eventually dropped out of the race after a series of controversies. Biden decided to run for president again in 2008, 20 years after his initial candidacy, but he eventually conceded the Democratic nomination to then-Senator Barack Obama.

During a December press conference, Biden said he didn’t rule out running for president in the 2020 election. However, if he did so, he would be 77 on Election Day, which would make him, if he wins, the oldest incoming president in American history.

[Featured Image by Susan Walsh/AP Images]