Washington (AP) The Presidential Fitness Test, which has been a part of public schools for decades and measures youth athleticism and health through 1-mile runs, sit-ups, and stretching activities, was reinstated for American children by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
Regarding the fitness exam, which was phased out under the Obama administration but started in 1966, Trump declared, “This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back.”
He also signed an executive order on Thursday that revitalizes a national sports council, which the president filled with athletes and other sports leaders. Trump and key administration officials were joined by a number of well-known athletes, including friends and pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau, who is an ally, and others who have drawn criticism, such former New York Giants linebacker and registered sex offender Lawrence Taylor.
Trump, a passionate golfer who is still fascinated by sports, is making his latest attempt to promote his cause through athletics. He plays golf virtually every weekend and was a baseball player in high school. Attending athletic events like the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, and UFC bouts has accounted for a large portion of his domestic travel this year that isn’t connected to weekend golf outings at his courses in Florida, New Jersey, and Virginia.
I’ve always enjoyed participating in sports. Trump claimed that he was good at sports. When you’re truly into sports, you don’t think about anything else. This is one of the reasons I enjoy golf to a certain degree. You take a couple of hours off.
Trump made the declaration as he prepared to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the 2025 Ryder Cup in the United States. Earlier this month, he also signed another executive order requiring federal officials to provide clarification on whether or not college players can be regarded as employees of the colleges they represent.
Trump stated on Thursday that the group, which is officially called the President’s group on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, will also address a number of college athletics-related concerns, including the transfer portal, which has made it easier for players to move between universities. Additionally, the council—which might consist of as many as 30 members—will create standards for a Presidential Fitness Award. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his health secretary, will administer the fitness exam.
Children were required to run, execute push-ups, pull-ups, or sit-ups, as well as a sit-and-reach test, but in 2012, the program was modified. As it developed into the Youth Fitness Program, the government claimed that it shifted its focus from rewarding physical achievement to serving as a gauge of students’ health. Michelle Obama, the first lady at the time, also supported her Let’s Move campaign, which aimed to lower childhood obesity via activity and nutrition.
According to a Health and Human Services Department website that was last updated in 2023 but is still accessible on Thursday, the Youth Fitness Test encourages pupils to pursue their own fitness objectives for long-term health rather than comparing them to one another.
In addition to DeChambeau and Taylor, Trump was joined on Thursday by Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam, kicker Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs, WWE chief content officer Paul Triple H Levesque, and the son-in-law of Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon.
In 2011, Taylor entered a guilty plea to minor criminal counts of sexual assault in New York. Taylor has shared the stage with Trump at campaign events. He was ordered to register as a sex offender and given a six-year probationary sentence. He was accused as a sex offender for failing to record a change of residence after being arrested in Broward County, Florida, in 2021. According to court documents, he subsequently entered a no contest plea to an amended charge, was sentenced to pay $261 in court costs, and the case was closed.
As he briefly took the microphone at the signing, Taylor remarked, “I’m just proud to be on this team.” I’m here to serve, but I have no idea why or what we’re meant to be doing. I’m here to help you, too.
In his commencement speech at a Kansas college last year, Butker claimed that some Catholic leaders were forcing harmful gender ideologies on America’s youth and that the majority of the women graduating were likely more eager to get married and start a family than to enter the workforce. The NFL distanced itself from those remarks. Butker also blasted Democratic President Joe Biden’s abortion policies and attacked Pride Month.
Later, Butker established a political action committee with the goal of persuading Christians to support what the PAC refers to as traditional values.On January 7, 2021, Sorenstam received criticism for accepting Trump’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, the day after rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in response to Trump’s fabrications about losing the election to Biden.
Despite being on the council, some prominent athletes did not attend Thursday’s gathering. They include hockey great Wayne Gretzky, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, retired golfers Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, and National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell.
Some study exercisers had conflicting reactions to the exam’s reintroduction.
“A test by itself won’t make America’s children healthier,” Laura Richardson, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Michigan, said of Trump’s welcome emphasis on physical exercise. According to her, the test is merely a springboard that should be used with instruction to assist every student get better.
Richardson, whose teaching focuses on obesity, stated that it’s not as simple as “you get a score and you’re doomed.” However, you receive a score, and we can identify a program that truly contributes to the progress.
