President Donald Trump is set to revive the Presidential Fitness Test for schoolchildren, a program that once defined physical education in American schools but was phased out under the Obama administration.
In a formal ceremony Thursday afternoon at the White House, Trump is expected to sign an executive order reestablishing the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. The council, to be overseen by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will also revive the once-familiar physical challenge, a battery of sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and a sit-and-reach flexibility test, that many students across generations either dreaded or embraced.
According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the initiative is part of Trump’s broader vision to cultivate “a culture of strength and excellence” in the nation’s youth. “The president wants to ensure America’s future generations are strong, healthy, and successful,” she said in a statement, adding that all young Americans should “have the opportunity to emphasize healthy, active lifestyles.”
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The original Presidential Fitness Test was introduced in 1966 and served as a national benchmark for physical aptitude in schools. But in 2012, the Obama administration replaced it with the Youth Fitness Program, shifting the focus from athletic performance to promoting long-term personal health and goal-setting. As a Health and Human Services Department website (last updated in 2023) still explains, the newer approach “minimizes comparisons between children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals for lifelong health.”
Trump’s revamped program will also feature a new Presidential Fitness Award, with criteria developed by the reestablished council.
The event, according to an AP report, will be attended by a roster of sports figures, some with contentious pasts. Among them are pro golfer and Trump confidant Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, Swedish golf legend Annika Sorenstam, WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and former NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor.
Butker has stirred controversy with remarks made during a commencement speech last year, in which he suggested that most female graduates were more interested in marriage and motherhood than careers, and accused Catholic leaders of promoting “dangerous gender ideologies.” He also condemned Pride Month and criticized President Joe Biden’s abortion stance. Following the backlash, Butker launched a political action committee to advocate for what he calls “traditional values.”
Sorenstam drew public criticism for accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump on January 7, 2021, one day after the Capitol insurrection by Trump supporters contesting his election defeat.
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Taylor, who has publicly supported Trump and appeared at his rallies, pleaded guilty in 2011 to misdemeanor sexual misconduct charges in New York and is a registered sex offender.
