Typically the medal is bestowed upon the recipient by the sitting president who has chosen them. However, the first recipients selected by president
John F. Kennedy before
his assassination were formally awarded by his successor in office,
Lyndon B. Johnson. President
Barack Obama awarded 118 medals, the most of any president, followed by President
Bill Clinton with 89 medal recipients. Three people—
Ellsworth Bunker,
Colin Powell, and
Ben Carson—are two-time recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Colin Powell received his second award with distinction, while
Ellsworth Bunker was given both of his awards with distinction. Eight presidents have themselves received the medal either posthumously, post-presidency, or prior to being elected: •
John F. Kennedy (1963, posthumously) •
Lyndon B. Johnson (1980, posthumously) •
Ronald Reagan (1993, with distinction) •
Gerald Ford (1999) •
Jimmy Carter (1999) •
George H. W. Bush (2011) •
Bill Clinton (2013) •
Joe Biden (2017, as Vice President; with distinction) In 2015, President
Barack Obama stated that there was no precedent to revoke a Presidential Medal of Freedom, regarding the award given to stand-up comedian and actor
Bill Cosby. After being awarded the medal, Cosby was
convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault, though the convictions were later overturned. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is related to, but distinct from, the
Medal of Freedom, an earlier award issued between 1945 and 1963 to honor US civilian contributions to
World War II. In 2022 at the age of 25, athlete and activist
Simone Biles became the youngest person to receive the award.
Declinations of the award Bill Belichick, coach of the
New England Patriots, was offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President
Donald Trump, and initially accepted it, but changed his mind and turned down the medal after the
January 6 United States Capitol attack. Country musician
Dolly Parton turned down the medal twice from Donald Trump. Parton said she turned it down the first time because her husband was ill, and the second time because of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Awarded with Distinction == List ==