A remark that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made Monday about World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) raised a few eyebrows on social media.

In an interview with NewsNation, Kennedy was asked whether he thought it was a mistake to discontinue the Presidential Fitness Test for students. The test was replaced with a different program during former President Barack Obama’s term after the 2012-2013 school year. Last summer, President Donald Trump signed an order to reestablish the former fitness test, which first began in 1966.

“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.

“Morning in America” host Anna Kooiman pointed out that the previous test sparked backlash because it negatively affected the self-esteem of kids who “weren’t physically inclined.” She questioned how the renewed version of the test would avoid those concerns.

“Failure is a part of life,” Kennedy said. “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?”

While the physicality is real, WWE is notably scripted with predetermined storylines and matches. Many social media users on X poked fun at Kennedy for apparently alluding that WWE fights were real, while others suggested that he could be keeping Kayfabe — the practice in pro-wrestling of maintaining the illusion that everything in the sport is real — “alive.”

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,” he said.

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