RFK Jr. cites WWE as fitness test resumes

RFK Jr. – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drew online ridicule after comparing resilience in the Presidential Fitness Test to the failures of WWE performers. His comments came as President Donald Trump signed an order to reestablish the test la

Monday’s interview didn’t turn into a policy debate right away. It turned into something messier—WWE jokes, wrestling lore, and a fitness test that sits at the center of a broader fight over how the government measures kids and what happens to children who don’t fit the scoreboard.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking in an interview with NewsNation. was asked whether he thought it was a mistake to discontinue the Presidential Fitness Test for students. That test had been replaced during former President Barack Obama’s term after the 2012-2013 school year. Kennedy said he disagreed with ending it.

“I think it was a huge mistake [to end the Presidential Fitness Test]. I mean, look at our kids, we literally have the sickest population in the world,” Kennedy said.

The exchange shifted when host Anna Kooiman pressed on what critics said about the earlier version of the test. She pointed out that it had sparked backlash because it negatively affected the self-esteem of kids who weren’t physically inclined. and she asked how a renewed version could avoid repeating those concerns.

Kennedy’s answer landed in a surprising place. “Failure is a part of life,” he said. Then he brought up WWE.

“Listen, the great thing about WWE, that’s so inspiring, is all of these guys have failed. Every one of them has lost fights. The trick is, how do you persuade yourself to stand back up and fight again?” Kennedy said.

For many on social media. the wording was the whole story: Kennedy appeared to connect a federal test for children to a pro-wrestling product—and the internet moved quickly. On X, users poked fun at the idea that WWE fights were real. Others suggested Kennedy might be keeping “Kayfabe. ” the practice in pro-wrestling of maintaining the illusion that everything in the sport is real.

But there was another thread running alongside the jokes: the test itself. Last summer, President Donald Trump signed an order to reestablish the former fitness test, which first began in 1966. The current fight is not just about bringing back a measurement—it’s about the lessons tied to it and whether the design can change what happens to a child who falls short.

That’s where WWE’s political-and-physical crossover met the policy side directly. WWE chief content officer and former star Paul “Triple H” Levesque. who scripted WWE fights and was appointed vice chair of the President’s Council on Sports. Fitness. and Nutrition. said the renewed test was about “rewarding effort. not just the upper end of success.”.

“It’s incredibly important for us to teach kids to support the kid that can’t do it… you don’t bully them, you don’t make fun of them,” Levesque said.

So the remark that drew the most laughter on social media—Kennedy’s WWE comparison—also became a window into the stakes beneath the humor. The question Kooiman raised about self-esteem and kids who weren’t physically inclined isn’t going away. even if the conversation briefly takes the scenic route through pro-wrestling storytelling.

When the Presidential Fitness Test returns in the shape Trump ordered, it will not just be evaluated on whether it captures physical performance. It will be judged on whether children experience it as a test they can recover from—rather than a label that follows them after they fail.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Presidential Fitness Test Donald Trump Barack Obama Health and Human Services WWE Paul “Triple H” Levesque President’s Council on Sports Fitness and Nutrition Anna Kooiman pro wrestling Kayfabe