Trump reestablishes sports and nutrition council, including Presidential Fitness Test

An emphasis on sports and fitness will return to public schools – and possibly some private schools – after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that will lead to a revival of the Presidential Fitness Test. 

Surrounded by pro-athletes including Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker, former NFL star Lawrence Taylor and Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam, Trump signed an order reestablishing the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, which will administer the test under the supervision of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

The order “directs the Council to develop strategies to approve America’s physical fitness and renew the American spirit excellence, competitiveness and sportsmanship,” Trump said. “We’re officially restoring the Presidential Fitness Test and the Presidential Fitness Award…This was a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back.” 

Pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau will chair the council, which includes a cadre of athletic standouts and officials ranging from Saquon Barkley to former Yankees’ closer Mariano Rivera, golfer Jack Nicklaus and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. 

Cleaning up NIL

Trump, an avid sports fan who is friends with many of the athletes he appointed to the council, lamented the shift in college sports since the NCAA began to allow athletes to receive compensation through name, image and likeness deals. He said the council would help college sports clean up the “mess.”

“These people behind me are going to be very much involved in figuring that whole thing out and working on it, and trying to bring some sanity to that,” Trump said. It’s “very bad what’s happening, because now all of a sudden, there’s no women that are able to get the money that they’re talking about. It seems to be going mostly to football, some basketball and women’s sports are being totally decimated.”

Trump also praised his order from earlier in his term to keep men out of women’s sports. Polls show it was supported by about 80% of Americans, but Trump said it was “not 80%-20% (but) 97%-3%, (or) 98%-2%.”

DeChambeau called the council an opportunity “to change the fabric of our communities and kids’ livelihoods for the future generations that are to come.” 

Kennedy’s legacy

RFK Jr., whose uncle promoted the test during his presidency, praised Trump for restoring it. 

“We need to re-instill that spirit of competition and that spirit and that commitment to nutrition and physical fitness, and I’m so grateful to President Trump for your leadership and bring this back for our country,” he said. 

The test was a staple in public schools from the 1960s through the 1990s, gradually waning until it was changed to the Youth Fitness Program in 2012 under the Obama administration, a voluntary effort focused more on individual health than athletic feats, the Associated Press reported. 

The presidential test included having students run and measure how many sit-ups, pull ups or pushups they could do, as well as a sit-and-reach test.

Trump “wants to ensure America’s future generations are strong, healthy, and successful,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, including that they “have the opportunity to emphasize healthy, active lifestyles – creating a culture of strength and excellence for years to come.” 

The order is part of Trump and Kennedy’s mission to Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, including cleaning up the food supply and reducing obesity in adults and children. 

The reestablishment of the fitness test applies to public schools, but some private schools may also chose to participate, meaning it could produce an overall fitness revival among young people.