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2022 Kennedy Center honorees celebrated at the White House

WASHINGTON — Gladys Knight, George Clooney, U2 and more 2022 Kennedy Center honorees joined President Joe Biden at the White House Sunday.

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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honored a select group of people Sunday for their artistic influences on culture in America, according to The Associated Press.

The full list of honorees includes George Clooney, Gladys Knight, Amy Grant, Tania León and the band U2, according to the AP.

The ceremony took place at the White House on Sunday afternoon and Biden paid tribute to the honorees beforehand with a speech in the East Room, according to the AP. Biden called the group “exceptional.”

“Thank you for showing us the power of the arts and ‘We the People,’” Biden said, according to the AP.

Biden spoke about Clooney’s on-camera work and all of his charity projects including working with 9/11 victims’ families and a gun control campaign that was spearheaded by survivors of the Parkland school shooting, according to the AP. Biden called Grant’s voice a “gift,” and shared that he had all of Knight’s songs on his iPhone ready to play. Biden also called the guys of U2 “poets in their own right.”

Congratulations to the 2022 Kennedy Center Honorees and their wonderful families,” said Biden on Twitter.

Biden was joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, according to the AP.

Also in attendance was Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi, according to the Hill. It was Paul Pelosi’s first appearance since he was attacked in his San Francisco house at the end of October. They were reportedly seated next to Harris and Emhoff.