‘One last bromance meme’ with Barack Obama’s highest honour for Joe Biden

President Barack Obama has awarded Vice President Joe Biden with the highest civilian honour, commemorating an “extraordinary man with an extraordinary career in public service.”

A teary-eyed and croaky-voiced Mr Biden accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House dedicated to honouring the outgoing vice-president.

Mr Obama said he was bestowing the honour on Mr Biden for “faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country and a lifetime of service that will endure through the generations”.

Mr Biden praised his wife and children for their support throughout his career, and praised the Obama family for their dedication to country and service.

“I was part of the journey of a remarkable man who did remarkable things,” he said.

Speaking ahead of Mr Biden, President Obama said the tribute would give the internet one last chance to joke about the “bromance” the two share. He called Mr Biden the “best possible choice, not just for me, but for the American people”.

Noting that Mr Biden’s career is “nowhere close to finished,” Mr Obama said his vice-president would go on to have an impact in the US and abroad.

President Obama also referred to Mr Biden as “the finest vice-president we have ever seen.”

The vice-president winced in shock as Mr Obama announced he was conferring the honour on his right-hand-man for eight years. Mr Biden turned away from the cameras, wiped away some tears, then stood stoically as Mr Obama draped the blue-and-white ribbon around his neck.

“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,” Mr Biden said.

There were standing ovations — several of them — at what had been billed as a modest farewell ceremony for Mr Biden but evolved into a surprise bestowal of the medal, the last time Mr Obama will present the honour.

“I had no idea,” Mr Biden said of the award, insisting he did not deserve it. It was the only time Mr Obama has presented the medal “with distinction”, also awarded only once by each of the previous three presidents.

One week out from the Obama administration’s end, a deep sense of nostalgia has set in at the White House as longtime staffers pack up their offices, send out their last emails and bid farewell to the president they have served.

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.

President Obama, joined by his wife and daughters, was effusive in his praise for the man who ran against him in 2008, then agreed to be his running mate. He said Mr Biden had made him a better president, calling him “a lion of American history.”

The famously plain-spoken Mr Biden has long said he only agreed to the job after Mr Obama agreed he would be the last person in the room before major decisions were made. Over two terms, they developed a bond that both men said transcended the office, with their wives, children and Biden’s grandchildren becoming close friends.

They disagreed, too, on occasion, including when Mr Biden advocated against the high-stakes raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Mr Biden’s tendency to veer off-script caused occasional headaches for the White House, such as when he unexpectedly announced support for same-sex marriage in advance of the 2012 re-election, forcing Mr Obama to do the same soon after.

Yet as they gathered for a final goodbye, none of that seemed on either man’s mind.

President Obama said there had been “no turf wars between our staffs,” a departure from other recent administrations. And Mr Biden told the story of how after his son Beau Biden died in 2015, leaving behind a wife and children, Mr Obama was distraught when Mr Biden said he might sell his house to help support them, and offered to give them money instead.

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Mr Biden’s career in Washington started in 1972 steeped in tragedy when his wife and infant daughter died in a car crash just before he was to be sworn in as a senator.

After exiting the national stage next week, he plans to stay active in Democratic politics and work on policy issues at a pair of institutes he’s developing at the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania.

His folksy demeanour lent itself to plenty of jokes and caricatures, like the series of photos of Mr Biden eating ice cream that exploded on social media. But Mr Obama seemed fonder of the internet meme based on photos of him and Biden buddying it up.

“This also gives the internet one last chance to talk about our bromance,” the president said.