Brian Kilmeade opened a May 6, 2026 discussion on ' Fox & Friends by asking whether a presidential fitness test was fair to children who are heavier or less athletic, saying some kids are embarrassed and that gym teachers need to be mindful of that.
He argued that some children do not exercise because of family circumstances, including single-parent homes and latchkey routines, and urged teachers to encourage them instead of shaming them. “Be positive,” Kilmeade said. “You don’t want kids traumatized.”
The exchange came during a broader conversation about the presidential fitness test, with Kilmeade saying, “So is this okay with you guys?” and later adding, “I mean I show a little bit of compassion and you jump down my throat.” The comments quickly drew pushback from Charlie Hurt and Ainsley Earhardt, who treated the issue less as a question of sensitivity and more as a question of health and discipline.
Hurt pushed back by saying, “Well a little bit, I mean that’s kind of the point of the playground —” and later argued that the point of the program is that friends make you like, get in shape and do it. Earhardt said, “It helps with childhood obesity. I like it,” and added that the aim is “to get our children healthy.” She also said that was “what a teacher is supposed to do” and accused Kilmeade of “playing the victim card kind of.”
The clash reflects a familiar fault line in debates over school fitness programs: whether they should be designed to spare children embarrassment or to push them toward healthier habits. Earhardt tied the effort to the MAHA movement and childhood obesity, while Kilmeade framed it as a matter of avoiding humiliation for children who may already feel left out.
What the exchange made plain is that the conversation is no longer only about exercise standards. It is about how hard schools should push, how much discomfort they should accept, and whether protecting children’s feelings helps them in the long run or keeps them from the very habits the test is meant to promote.
