Emotional Biden, 81, appears to wipe away a tear and tells Hillary Clinton 'I love you' as he accepts award from Bill in New York

President Joe Biden got emotional on Monday when Bill Clinton surprised him with an award for his public service.

Biden wiped away a few tears as Bill Clinton praised his 'uncommon decency and goodness and grace.' The former president awarded him with the Clinton Global Citizen Award.

The president also got personal when he thanked the Clintons, especially Hillary Clinton, for her support: 'I want to thank you personally for the way you have helped me.'

'I love you,' he told the former first lady. 

Biden made an unscheduled stop to the Clinton Global Initiative on Monday evening when Jill Biden was participating in a session on women's health with Chelsea Clinton.

At the session, Jill Biden unveiled a new set of actions to address health inequities faced by women in the U.S., plans that include spending at least $500 million annually on women's health research.

After Jill and Chelsea wrapped up their talk, 'Hail to the Chief' played. Hillary Clinton walked out, followed by Bill Clinton, who escorting President Joe Biden. The room burst into a standing ovation.

The president gave the first lady a long hug and then did the same for Chelsea Clinton. 

Bill Clinton, who publicly supported Biden's bid to stay in the presidential race after many Democrats called on him to exit, praised the president's service.

'It is now my honor to welcome a friend of 40 years and an extraordinary leader who spent his entire life fighting to make America better, fairer and stronger,' he said of Biden, who stood behind him. 

He handed over the glass trophy. The Clinton Global Citizen Award recognizes global leaders who take action to improve the state of the world, according to the Clinton Foundation.

In 2013, then-Vice President Biden served as a guest presenter to award Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the Clinton Global Citizen Award. Other winners have included Olena Zelenska, Jon Bon Jovi, Malala Yousafzai, and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Biden, standing next to the first lady, Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, joked: 'This is what you call being trapped.' 

He also teased the former president a bit in his remarks. 

'You and I have something very much in common. We married way above our station. I'm Jill Biden's husband. He's Hillary Clinton's husband,' he said, recyling one of his favorite longtime jokes. 

H.e then called Jill Biden's announcement one of the most substantial of his administration. 

'As a point of personal pride, I think Jill's work on women's health research, and this is Jill's, and this was Jill's movement - that was going to go down as one of our significant programs in our administration,' he said.

The additional government spending will mainly come from the Department of Defense, which provides medical care to more than 230,000 active duty military women and nearly 2 million military retirees, as well as their family members. 

The research will focus on why these women experience endocrine, hematological and other immunity-related disorders twice as often as men.

'Women are really hungry for this kind of information,' Jill Biden said. 'We don't have the answers.'

The Clintons have set the theme of this year's gathering as 'What´s Working,' a way to look for potential solutions and effective programs in tumultuous times.

After the kudos were exchanged, the Clintons and Bidens posed for a group photo.