Is Bruce Springsteen the pride of Delaware?
President Joe Biden made the case during the Tuesday, March 21, National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
Biden spoke about Springsteen, 73, after remarks on fellow recipient Gladys Knight. The event was livestreamed.
“Speaking of good things in music, the Boss is here,” Biden said. “As they say in South Philly and North Wilmington, a Joisey Boy. I want you to know Bruce, there is a lawsuit between the governor of Delaware and the governor of New Jersey, and it’s now a matter of law. We own the Delaware River up the highwater mark in New Jersey. So for all I know I can claim you as part of Delaware.”
The room had a chuckle.
“Bruce Springsteen, a poet, a troubadour, a chronicler of the American way of life, and resilience and hope and dreams,” Biden continued. “A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom along with 20 Grammys, an Oscar, a Tony and the unyielding love of millions of fans across generations. The New Jersey kid is back on tour approaching, get this, 3,000 concerts around the world. Bless me Father for I have sinned.”
A another round of laughter
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“Since his first performance as a teenager in a local Elks lodge in, and I know where it is, Freehold, New Jersey,” Biden said. “Just across the river. I’ve been to Freehold and I married a Joisey girl, OK? Bruce, some people are just born to run, man.”
The crowd then broke into a “Broooce!” call.
Full ceremony can be seen below
Springsteen, who wore a dark suit and tie on Tuesday, was previously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama at the White House in November of 2016.
Knight, Mindy Kaling, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Vera Wang, artist-activist Judith Francisca Baca, philanthropist Fred Eychaner, Puerto Rican painter Antonio Martorell-Cardona and film producer Joan Shigekawa, along with the organizations The Billie Holiday Theatre and The International Association of Blacks in Dance, also received National Medals of Arts on Tuesday.
Fellow great music José Feliciano was on tour and did not receive his medal on Tuesday.
Poet Richard Blanco, anthropologist Johnnetta Betsch Cole, author Walter Isaacson, social historian Earl Lewis, Native American studies academic Henrietta Mann, novelist Ann Patchett, activist Bryan Stevenson, novelist Amy Tan, memoirist Tara Westover and novelist Colson Whitehead, as well as the organization Native America Calling received National Humanities Medals Tuesday at the White House.
The bestowment honors those who have improved Americans’ understanding and engagement with history, literature, philosophy and other humanities subjects.
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Biden awarded British singer Elton John with a National Humanities Medal for his contributions to music and fighting AIDS in September.
The last National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal ceremony took place Jan. 13, 2021, under President Donald Trump, when 2020 recipients were bestowed.
Springsteen and the E Street Band played TD Garden in Boston on Monday, March 20, and play the KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Thursday, March 23. Two shows were added to the current tour on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, plus a second night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. on Aug. 26.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com
