Bono responds to backlash over accepting Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden
Bono has defended his decision to accept the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Joe Biden earlier this year.
The U2 frontman received the award in January alongside 18 others, including former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and footballer Lionel Messi.
The announcement was met with backlash from some activists and commentators, who questioned Bono's acceptance of the honour given the Biden administration's military support for Israel.
In an interview this weekend with Brendan O'Connor on RTÉ Radio One, Bono addressed the controversy, saying, 'Being a conscientious objector with somebody else's conscience is quite a stretch.'
He explained that his relationship with President Biden spans more than two decades, during which they worked closely on several global humanitarian issues. These include the Drop the Debt campaign of the 1990s, efforts to increase aid to developing nations, and expanding universal access to antiretroviral HIV medications. Bono has defended his decision to accept the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Joe Biden earlier this year. Pic:'This is a man who I have deep respect for and a real relationship with,' Bono said.
He also responded to specific criticisms about US military aid to Israel, noting that many critics may not realise the aid package Biden signed in April 2024 was a bundled bill – one that included funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The largest portion of the $95 billion package was allocated to Ukraine, but Biden reiterated his strong support for Israel when announcing it.
'In fact, there was an attempt to decouple them, but Biden knew he wouldn't get it through Congress,' Bono explained. 'These are complex affairs.'
While acknowledging the suffering in Gaza, Bono pushed back against the idea that accepting the award implied support for US policy in the region. While acknowledging the suffering in Gaza, Bono pushed back against the idea that accepting the award implied support for US policy in the region. Pic:'Anyone who thinks I'm not shocked and appalled by what's going on in Gaza, and the children of Gaza…' he began, before criticising what he called 'competitive empathy' – the idea that one person's moral outrage must outweigh another's.
'It's such a strange thing, this competitive empathy that's going around: 'I feel this wound more than you, and my emergency is more important than your emergency.'
Bono ended by saying he accepted the award not for himself, but as a gesture to activists and aid workers, including those suffering or risking their lives in conflict zones like Gaza.
'I kind of get the realpolitik of the situation that Joe Biden found himself in.'
'I took that medal on behalf of all those people who don't get medals – the activists, the people getting killed now in Gaza.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘If people can give their opinion on TV, surely I can give my opinion on Instagram' – Samantha Mumba stands by Eurosong comments
She admitted she was a 'bit surprised' that her Instagram post had generated the reaction it did when she hit out at the panel of commentators after the show. Her song My Way was not selected to represent Ireland at the Eurovision in Basel last month. The competition was won by Norwegian singer Emmy (24) and her song Laika Party, which ultimately failed to qualify for the Eurovision grand final last month. The Irish entry ranked in the bottom four contestants in the the semi-final, receiving just 28 points. Mumba generated a social media storm when she criticised the panel – with the exception of previous Eurovision entry Bambie Thug – for not having the 'credentials, experience or professionalism required' to take on the role. She also made some other remarks, including her 'parting gift' to the panel, which was 'a bag of [emoji] to slowly choke on'. The emoji Mumba used was the aubergine icon. Donal Skehan, who was on the panel alongside radio presenter Laura Fox and dancer Arthur Gourounlian, called the comments 'completely unprofessional'. Mumba said in a follow-up post that her comments were 'never about me not winning' and that she felt strongly that the panel were 'dismissive of all the contestants, which was disappointing given the amount of work and passion we all put into our performances'. Speaking to RTÉ Radio One's Brendan O'Connor Show this morning, the singer said it was 'a very, very personal thing' for her to enter the competition and she wanted to step out of her comfort zone. 'So even doing that, and doing a song competition, isn't something that I had on my bingo list at 42 at all." She said it would have been 'ego' to believe she should not have been competing in a contest, adding: 'And it's a song competition, and I wouldn't want to represent Ireland with a song that Ireland didn't want either or do something.' ADVERTISEMENT She said: 'I think fair is fair, and I think if that's the process, then that's what it was. "And honestly, I was just proud of myself for doing it because it definitely wouldn't have been something that I would've been necessarily even thinking I would have the balls to do it, if I'm being totally honest, like, a few years ago. No, I loved the process of all of it." On whether she was surprised about the reaction her post on the process received, she said that 'everybody's entitled to an opinion'. "And I was a bit surprised - that wasn't even the focus. Like, I think I just... What I wrote was just at the end of the post. The focus of the post was actually just thanking everybody on the team who'd worked so hard on it. "I didn't see what the big deal was." She added that she is not on social media very often so was not aware that the post would generate the reaction it did. "But I mean, I certainly stand by what I said. I don't take it back. "I think, you know, fair is fair, if people can give their opinion on national television, surely I'm allowed to give my opinion on my own Instagram page. I think that's fair." The singer also said she believes the Eurosong should be separated from the Late Late Show into a separate programme. "I love the variety of it. I love kind of the process that it's open to everybody," she said. "I think if I had one immediate one, I would think that it should be its own show, and it definitely should be televised in a music venue that is set up for singers."
RTÉ News
7 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Musk deletes post alleging Trump link to Epstein files
Elon Musk has deleted his post on X alleging US President Donald Trump was "in the Epstein files". Mr Musk made the unverified accusation on Thursday as the two men clashed over Mr Trump's proposed spending bill. The accusation was among a number posts deleted by Mr Musk. It comes after US President Donald Trump said yesterday that Elon Musk had "lost his mind" but insisted he wanted to move on from the fiery split with his billionaire former ally. Mr Trump had scrapped the idea of a call with Mr Musk and was even thinking of ditching the red Tesla he bought at the height of their bromance, White House officials said. "Honestly I've been so busy working on China, working on Russia, working on Iran... I'm not thinking about Elon Musk, I just wish him well," Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to his New Jersey golf club yesterday evening. Mr Trump told US broadcasters that he now wanted to focus instead on passing his "big, beautiful" mega-bill before Congress. Mr Musk's harsh criticism of the bill had sparked their bust-up. But the 78-year-old Republican could not stop himself from taking aim at his South African-born friend-turned-enemy. "You mean the man who has lost his mind?" Mr Trump said in a call with ABC when asked about Mr Musk, adding that he was "not particularly" interested in talking to the tycoon. Mr Trump later told Fox News that Mr Musk had "lost it". Just a week ago Mr Trump gave Mr Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after four months working there. While there had been reports of tensions, the sheer speed at which their relationship imploded stunned onlookers. After Mr Musk called Mr Trump's spending bill an "abomination" on Tuesday, Mr Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe on Thursday in which he said he was "very disappointed" by the entrepreneur. Mr Trump's spending bill faces a difficult path through Congress as it will raise the US deficit, while critics say it will cut health care for millions of the poorest Americans. The row then went nuclear, with Mr Musk slinging insults at Mr Trump and accusing him without evidence, in a since deleted post on X, of being in government files on disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Irish Examiner
13 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Trump says he has no plans to speak to Musk as feud persists
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has no plans to speak with Elon Musk, signalling the president and his former ally might not resolve their feud over a sweeping tax-cut bill anytime soon. Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he wasn't "thinking about" the Tesla CEO. "I hope he does well with Tesla," Trump said. However, Trump said a review of Musk's extensive contracts with the federal government was in order. "We'll take a look at everything," the president said. "It's a lot of money." Trump may get rid of the red Tesla Model S that he bought in March after showcasing Musk's electric cars on the White House lawn, a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Musk, for his part, did not directly address Trump but kept up his criticism of the massive Republican tax and spending bill that contains much of Trump's domestic agenda. On his social-media platform X, Musk amplified remarks made by others that Trump's "big beautiful bill" would hurt Republicans politically and add to the nation's $36.2 trillion debt. He replied "exactly" to a post by another X user that said Musk had criticised Congress, and Trump had responded by criticising Musk personally. Musk also declared it was time for a new political party in the United States "to represent the 80% in the middle!" People who have spoken to Musk said his anger has begun to recede, and they think he will want to repair his relationship with Trump, according to one person who has spoken to Musk's entourage. Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House, in May, in Washington. Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci The White House statements came one day after the two men battled openly in an extraordinary display of hostilities that marked a stark end to a close alliance. Tesla stock rose on Friday, clawing back some losses from Thursday's session, when it dropped 14% and lost $150 billion in value, the largest single-day decline in the company's history. Musk's high-profile allies have largely stayed silent during the feud. However, one investor, James Fishback, called on Musk to apologise. "President Trump has shown grace and patience at a time when Elon's behaviour is disappointing and frankly downright disturbing," Fishback said in a statement. Musk, the world's richest man, bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. Trump feted Musk at the White House a week ago as he wrapped up his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk cut only about half of 1% of total spending, far short of his brash plans to axe $2 trillion from the federal budget. Since then, Musk has denounced Trump's tax-cut and spending bill as a "disgusting abomination." His opposition is complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress, where Republicans hold a slim majority. Trump's bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives last month and is now before the Senate, where Republicans say they will make further changes. Nonpartisan analysts say the measure would add $2.4 trillion in debt over 10 years. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he has been texting with Musk and hopes the dispute is resolved quickly. "I don't argue with him about how to build rockets, and I wish he wouldn't argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it," Johnson said on CNBC. President Donald Trump Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci 'VERY DISAPPOINTED' Trump had initially stayed quiet while Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, but broke his silence on Thursday, telling reporters he was "very disappointed" in Musk. Musk, who spent nearly $300 million in last year's elections, said Trump would have lost without his support and suggested he should be impeached. Trump suggested he would terminate government contracts with Musk's businesses, which include rocket company SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink. The billionaire then threatened to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, the only US spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station. Musk later backed off that threat. Musk had been angered when Trump over the weekend revoked his nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to head the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Two sources with direct knowledge of the dispute said White House personnel director Sergio Gor had helped turn Trump against Isaacman by highlighting his past donations to Democrats. Musk and Gor had been at odds since the billionaire criticised Gor's pace of hiring at a March cabinet meeting, the two sources said. A White House spokesperson, Steven Cheung, praised Gor's efforts to staff the administration but did not address his relationship with Musk. A prolonged feud could make it harder for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year's midterm elections if Musk withholds financial support or other major Silicon Valley business leaders distance themselves from Trump. Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending, and on Tuesday, he called for "all politicians who betrayed the American people" to be fired next year. His involvement with the Trump administration has provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites, driving down sales while investors fretted that Musk's attention was too divided. -Reuters Read More Elon Musk signals he may back down in public row with Donald Trump
