Story highlights The White House had scheduled a ceremony to praise Joe Biden on Thursday

The event included a surprise award and heartfelt remarks about and from the vice president

(CNN) President Barack Obama surprised an emotional Vice President Joe Biden Thursday by presenting him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, during a White House ceremony. "A teary-eyed Biden accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House dedicated to honoring the outgoing vice president.Obama said he is bestowing the honor on Biden for "faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country and a lifetime of service that will endure through the generations. “For my final time as president, I am pleased to award our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

Before surprising Biden with the award, Obama gave lengthy and colorful remarks praising Biden, his wife Dr. Jill Biden and his children and grandchildren. “That’s why my family is honored to call ourselves honorary Bidens.”

Obama noted that while their term is almost over the two will be “forever binded as a family,”

“If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person you’ve got a problem,” Obama said quoting a Republican senator. (Published Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017)

He honored Biden’s lifetime of public service, including his decades in the Senate and eight years as president, from the Violence Against Women Act, diplomacy, his “cancer moonshot,” and “It’s On Us” campaign to combat sexual assault on college campuses.
The President of the United States Barack Obama awards his Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the only time the president has awarded this particular honor during his tenure.