President Joe Biden has awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom to a man who appeared in a photo with the would-be assassin of Donald Trump.
José Andrés, who was among 19 people awarded the medal, was photographed with Ryan Wesley Routh – the man arrested on suspicion of attempting to assassinate the Republican on his Florida golf course in Sept. 2024.
The background, which features an array of miniature Ukrainian flags, suggests the photo taken some time after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022 but likely before Routh’s Sept. 2024 arrest.
It is not known if Routh and Andrés had any connection prior to the photograph. The chef, credited with popularizing the concept of tapas dining, received the award for his humanitarian work with the World Central Kitchen.
Although most likely a coincidence, some questioned the optics of Biden’s decision to award Andrés a medal.
Others believed, given the photo’s widespread circulation following Routh’s arrest, that Biden had intended to send a message.
