Biden Dismayed by Medal of Freedom for Rush Limbaugh

The awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh has left Joe Biden almost speechless.

The Democratic presidential candidate was asked Wednesday during a CNN town hall in New Hampshire about the honor President Donald Trump bestowed on the conservative radio personality during Tuesday's State of the Union. The former vice president made the sign of the cross and looked at the ground for several seconds before responding.

Biden finally said, “Rush Limbaugh spent his entire time on the air dividing people, belittling people,” and he started to blame Limbaugh for stirring up racial division before trailing off.

Referencing Limbaugh's recent announcement that he has advanced lung cancer, Biden said he does feel bad that Limbaugh has a terminal illness.

But he added that Trump’s bestowing the honor on Limbaugh before a joint session of Congress was “quite frankly, trying to maintain your right-wing political credentials, rather than anything else.”

President Barack Obama surprised Biden by awarding him with a Presidential Medal of Freedom shortly before he left office in 2017.

Also Wednesday, Biden attacked two of his major 2020 rivals by name as he campaigned in New Hampshire.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg were both directly criticized by Biden Wednesday after he lamented the impact Iowa has had on his campaign.

Biden said if Sanders is the nominee, “every Democrat in America up and down the ballot, in blue states, red states, purple states and easy districts and competitive ones.” will be stuck with Sanders' Democratic socialist label.

Biden says President Donald Trump is “desperate” to pin that label on Democrats.

On Buttigieg, Biden says said he has "great respect" for the 38-year-old. But he says it's a risk to nominate "someone who's never held an office higher than mayor of a town of 100,000 people in Indiana.”