For decades, we’ve watched American kids swap running around for sitting around. Everyone gets a trophy now. Nobody learns what it means to really win. Remember those days when being fast or strong actually mattered? I sure do.
Here’s what happened: We stopped caring about being the best. Other countries push their kids to get stronger and smarter. What do we do? We tell everyone they’re special just for showing up. Think that’s not a big deal? Look around. Our military can’t find enough fit recruits. Our workplaces are full of people who never learned to push themselves.
President Trump just did something about it. (About time, right?) On Thursday, he signed an order bringing back the Presidential Fitness Test to schools everywhere. He had some serious athletes with him too—golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, and NFL legend Lawrence Taylor. Trump told everyone: “The order that I’ll sign today directs the council to develop strategies to improve America’s physical fitness and renew the American spirit, excellence, competitiveness, and sportsmanship.”
A Return to Excellence
Get this—it’s almost America’s 250th birthday in 2026. What better time to bring back a program that made kids actually work for something? The Presidential Fitness Test used to mean something. Pull-ups, sit-ups, the mile run. You either made it or you didn’t. No participation ribbons. Obama killed it in 2012. (Surprised? Me neither.)
From ‘The Post Millennial’:
“We have an opportunity at being the 70th anniversary of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, to literally change the fabric of kids’ lives. And our first initiative is to bring back and reignite the President’s Fitness Test and then also reestablish some key other metrics on guidelines around building some communities.”
That’s DeChambeau talking at the White House. The guy nailed it. This isn’t just about doing jumping jacks. It’s about teaching kids that winning matters again.
Butker gets it too. He said he’s “excited to do my part to help make America healthy again, to help our youth be healthy and thrive and grow up and be great citizens of this country.” You know what? Good. We need more people saying this stuff out loud. And Triple H? The wrestling legend said fitness “set you up for success in life, and without it, you’re at a lesser place for it.” Guy learned that at 14. Most kids today? They’re learning how to complain on TikTok.
Lessons From History
Here’s the kicker—this isn’t some new idea Trump dreamed up. President Eisenhower started the whole fitness council thing. Why? Because American kids were getting soft. JFK even wrote an essay called “The Soft American.” (Sound familiar?) These guys knew something we forgot. Strong bodies make strong countries.
Then Obama came along in 2012. Out went the Presidential Fitness Test. In came something called the “FitnessGram.” No more awards for being the best. Just show up and get credit. What message does that send? Don’t try too hard, kids. Everyone’s a winner!
Now RFK Jr. is running the show as Health Secretary. The guy who actually cares about what’s in our food and why kids are sick all the time. The executive order calls our fitness crisis what it is—a national security problem. Because guess what? It is.
America’s about to host the World Cup and the Olympics. The whole world will be watching. What do we want them to see? A bunch of kids who can’t do a single pull-up? Or young Americans who know how to compete and win? The new fitness test is about more than exercise. It’s about bringing back the idea that trying hard gets you somewhere. That being the best at something matters. Let me tell you—that’s a lesson no participation trophy will ever teach. And boy, do our kids need it.
Key Takeaways
- Trump reinstates Presidential Fitness Test abandoned by Obama in 2012
- Sports legends like Butker and DeChambeau join fitness revival mission
- Physical fitness now classified as national security priority
- Merit-based achievement returns to schools after participation trophy era
Sources: The Post Millennial, The White House
