President Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 new recipients Saturday, including George Soros and Hillary Clinton — sparking outrage from top lawmakers and law enforcement professionals.
“Hillary Clinton abandoned our Navy SEALs in Libya and George Soros spent millions electing soft-on-crime politicians that let criminals wreak havoc in our major cities,” said Montana’s new Senator, Tim Sheehy.
“Joe Biden’s decision to give Hillary Clinton and George Soros the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a national disgrace.”
Biden on Saturday thanked Soros repeatedly “for all you’ve done to help this country.”
“I am grateful for the work you will inspire for generations to follow,” he told the assembled honorees from the White House East Room.
Soros, 94, was not on hand to receive the award in person, and the honor was accepted on his behalf by his son and political heir, Alex Soros. The smiling younger Soros is well-acquainted with Biden and other top democratic powerbrokers.
“Born into a Jewish family in Hungary, George Soros escaped Nazi occupation to build a life of freedom for himself and countless others around the world,” read the Soros citation.
“He settled in America as he became an investor and philanthropist, supporting key pillars of open societies, rights and justice, equity and equality, freedom now and in the future. His inspiring generosity reminds us all of our capacity and our obligation to stand up to the abuse of power and to be guardians of democracy and all people yearning to be free.”
Clinton received a standing ovation as she accepted her award, which cited her work promoting universal health care, women’s rights and democracy during her time as secretary of state.
Among those in the audience Saturday was Biden’s disgraced son Hunter, fresh off the sweeping clemency he received from his dad after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion in September.
While most of the honorees, like animal rights activist Jane Goodall, musician Bono, fashion mogul Ralph Lauren and soccer star Lionel Messi were uncontroversial, Soros and Clinton were sore spots for many.
The Democratic mega-donor, worth more than $7 billion, has spent decades financing far left and progressive causes, which critics say have led to disastrous social consequences, while Clinton has long been followed by her own trail of controversies.
“Joe Biden is spending his final days in office asking ‘how can I disgrace myself even more?’ And this is just the latest example. Hillary Clinton should have been prosecuted, not celebrated with the nation’s highest civilian honor,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told The Post.
“The significant financial support of Mr. Soros and his Open Society for far left woke criminal justice reform District Attorney and Mayoral candidates created havoc in the criminal justice system and significant rises in crime and disorder,” said Bill Bratton, a former NYPD commissioner and Los Angeles Police Chief, adding that he was “disappointed” in Biden’s decision to honor the nonagenarian financier.
“I’m not aware of any American city led by them that had reduced crime or disorder and in most instances saw increases. Fortunately their Defund the Police efforts and other initiatives have failed and many American cities have voted them out of office in favor of more traditional public safety initiatives,” Bratton added.
Trump confidant Elon Musk called the Soros awards a “travesty” on his X account.
On the municipal level, Soros is most famous for financing far-left district attorneys, who have made careers out of a refusal to prosecute criminals in favor of “restorative justice” — often overseeing sharp spikes in crime. Among the most famous are Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg, Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner, Chicago’s Kim Foxx, and Los Angeles’ George Gascón.
Soros and his allies have also contributed to a blight in major cities through “harm reduction” drug policies. In New York City, a Soros-funded nonprofit raised eyebrows for handing out free needles, crack pipes and even devices to “cook” heroin.
“Truly a sad day for America,” said New Jersey GOP Rep. Jeff Van Drew. “Communities all across our country will likely never recover from the damage George Soros and his Radical Left prosecutors have inflicted upon them.”
Ray Kelly, another former NYPD commissioner blasted Soros, saying he could not “think of anyone who has done more to undermine the rule of law in this country than George Soros.”
Soros, whose cash is distributed by his Open Society Foundation and affiliated organizations, has also been a leading prominent of Black Lives Matter, a network of frequently violent groups and activists, whose leaders have looted official funds to pay for luxury properties for themselves. In 2020, Soros put up more than $200 million to “dismantle systemic racism.”
