0:35President Donald Trump signs an executive order reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, July 31, 2025.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Children in America’s public schools will soon be putting on their sneakers for the Presidential Fitness Test following President Donald Trump’s announcement of its revival more than ten years after it was abolished.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order that will enhance the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition and reintroduce the Presidential Fitness Test in public educational institutions.
“I am happy to declare that we are officially bringing back the Presidential Fitness Test and the Presidential Fitness Award. This is going to be a significant initiative,” Trump stated during the signing ceremony on Thursday afternoon, noting that the test “was a fantastic tradition, and we are reinstating it.”
President Donald Trump signs an executive order reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, July 31, 2025.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
The fitness assessment, which was initiated under former President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, will make a comeback after being discontinued in 2012 during Barack Obama’s presidency. Obama replaced it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, a comprehensive initiative aimed at promoting active and healthy living among students.
While various iterations of the Presidential Fitness Test have existed, the version most people recognize includes a one-mile run, pull-ups or push-ups, sit-ups, shuttle run, and sit-and-reach, as noted by Harvard Health. The specifics of what will be featured in the Trump administration’s Presidential Fitness Test remain to be determined.
“President Trump is committed to ensuring that future generations of Americans are robust, healthy, and prosperous. He wants every young American to have the chance to prioritize healthy, active lifestyles—thereby fostering a culture of strength and excellence for years to come,” stated White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to ABC News on Thursday.
President Donald Trump speaks as WWE CCO Triple H, Kansas City Chiefs’ Harrison Butker, and golfer Bryson DeChambeau listen prior to Trump signing an executive order reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools, July 31, 2025, at the White House in Washington.Jacquelyn Martin/AP
This initiative aligns with the administration’s objective to establish “bold and innovative fitness goals” for young Americans—a strategy that seeks to cultivate a new generation of healthy, active individuals, as explained by a White House representative.
Trump signed the executive order on Thursday afternoon surrounded by several athletes, including Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker; golfer Bryson DeChambeau; WWE Chief Content Officer and Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s son-in-law, Paul “Triple H” Levesque; and former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who is a registered sex offender.
“We have a unique opportunity, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, to truly transform the lives of children,” DeChambeau remarked. “Our initial initiative is to revive and reignite the President’s Fitness Test.”
The order arrives as the Trump administration contemplates various aspects of sports policy—including a prohibition on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Additionally, the United States is set to host a number of significant sporting events during Trump’s second term, including the Ryder Cup, the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and the Summer Olympics in 2028.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
