Trump revives Presidential Fitness Test to “Make America Active Again”

08/05/2025 / By Laura Harris

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 31, reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools to combat youth inactivity and promote physical excellence.
Originally launched by President Eisenhower in 1956 and discontinued in 2013, the test includes physical challenges like sit-ups, pull-ups and sprints, with top performers recognized through national awards.
The order revives the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition to create bold fitness benchmarks and establish a new Presidential Fitness Award program.
Athletes, including NFL great Lawrence Taylor, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker and WWE’s Triple H, joined Trump at the White House in support of the initiative.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasized the need to “re-instill a spirit of competition” and praised the effort as a necessary response to the nation’s growing youth health crisis.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, July 31, reinstating the historic Presidential Fitness Test in public schools to “foster a new generation of healthy, active citizens” and promote American strength and preparedness.

The original test, created under former President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, became a staple of gym class for generations of American students. It included physical challenges such as sit-ups, pull-ups, the standing broad jump and a 50-yard dash. For nearly six decades, top performers were awarded certificates and accolades – until the test was phased out in 2013 under the Obama administration and replaced with a program emphasizing personal growth over achievement.

Trump’s order signals a reversal of that policy, promoting “excellence over participation” and warning of a national health crisis driven by inactivity, obesity and poor nutrition.

The executive order re-establishes the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition with a mandate to set bold and innovative fitness benchmarks for American youth. It also restores the Presidential Fitness Test, a multi-event physical assessment historically used to measure athletic achievement in school-aged children. Additionally, the order directs the Council to develop new criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award to recognize top-performing students across the country.

To further promote the initiative, the Council is instructed to partner with professional athletes, sports organizations and influential public figures to encourage youth participation in sports and physical activity. Finally, the order reaffirms key national priorities, military readiness, academic performance and civic morale, as deeply connected to the physical health of America’s young people. (Related: A healthy lifestyle is the best cure: Study reveals link between lifestyle choices and disease risk.)

“From the late 1950s until 2013, graduate scholars all across our country competed against each other in the presidential fitness test, and it was a big deal,” Trump said at the signing ceremony. “This was a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back.”

Athletes, other public figures support the revival of Presidential Fitness Test

The signing ceremony took place in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, where Trump was joined by a lineup of athletes and public figures who pledged support for his youth fitness initiative.

The president was flanked by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive and wrestler Paul “Triple H” Levesque and former Texas Tech football player Cody Campbell.

“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 and be great family members and contribute to this great country,” said Butker. “You have to be strong in mind, in body and soul.”

The moment took a light-hearted turn when Lawrence Taylor, known as one of the most dominant defenders in National Football League (NFL) history, candidly admitted some confusion about the day’s agenda.

“I don’t know why, I don’t know what we supposed to be doing, but I’m here to SERVE, and I’m here to serve YOU,” Taylor said, pointing to the president. “I’m gonna do the best I can for as long as I can.”

Meanwhile, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who will oversee the implementation of the test, praised the move as a critical step in addressing the nation’s health crisis. Kennedy then stressed the importance of “re-instilling a spirit of competition and that commitment to nutrition and physical fitness” and thanked the president for bringing the Presidential Fitness Test back.

For more news on Trump’s executive orders, visit BigGovernment.news.

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