President Trump also signed a presidential memorandum on Tuesday that brought back the Presidential Fitness Test Award. The school-based fitness program that ended during the Obama administration gave this award to students who performed well.
Members of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition and the National Fitness Foundation board will be at the signing. Some of the famous athletes who will be there are golfer Bryson DeChambeau, retired professional golfer Gary Player, Baltimore Ravens cornerback Amani Oruwariye, and MLB pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
The change brings back a performance-based standard for student fitness, which is similar to the Trump administration’s larger “Make America Healthy Again” campaign.
Last year, Trump signed an executive order to bring back the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition and the Presidential Fitness Test. On Tuesday, a memo made it possible for the government to bring back the test and awards at all American schools, Fox News Digital learned.
According to a copy of the National Physical Fitness Award that Fox News Digital got, the new edition of the award focuses on measurable athletic performance standards, just like earlier iterations of the test that ranked students based on their physical achievements.
Former President Barack Obama ended the original Presidential Physical Fitness Test during his second term and replaced it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, which is part of the “Let’s Move” campaign. At the time, critics said that the test put too much emphasis on performance and competitiveness, which made less athletic students less likely to do well.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower set up the President’s Council on Youth Fitness because research revealed that American kids were less fit than their European contemporaries. President John F. Kennedy started the President’s Council on Physical Fitness by having schools give fitness tests.
According to the Let’s Move website, the Obama-era Presidential youngsters Fitness Program was mostly about “assessing health versus athleticism for America’s youth.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that between 2021 and 2023, more than 21% of Americans ages 2 to 19 were obese, and 7% of American kids were severely obese.
Trump also held an event on the South Lawn with families and kids to celebrate National Youth Sports and Fitness Month.
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Trump was also asked about the conflict in Iran.
The president told Congress on Friday that hostilities between the United States and Iran have “terminated,” stating that a ceasefire implemented last month effectively ended the conflict as a key legal deadline arrived.
The claim came as Trump reached the 60-day mark under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires presidents to withdraw U.S. forces from unauthorized military engagements unless Congress approves continued action.
In a letter to lawmakers, Trump argued that the absence of recent military exchanges signaled the end of hostilities.
The president is arguing that because he implemented a cease-fire, that effectively reset the War Powers clock, so to speak, meaning any new military action in the region would simply restart the 60-day window.
Trump also questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution’s time limits, as have most all previous presidents since the law was passed toward the end of the Vietnam War.
The War Powers Resolution allows for an additional 30-day withdrawal period if a president certifies that continued military engagement is necessary to ensure a safe exit. The Trump administration does not appear to have formally invoked that provision.
