Robert F. Kennedy Jr. put his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ plans to literal use on Monday by competing against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a workout challenge.
RFK Jr., the Health and Human Services Secretary, has vowed to help Americans lose weight, reduce chronic diseases and exercise more after Trump’s administration took office in January.
Named the ‘Pete and Bobby Challenge’, he is now calling on America to try and do 50 pull-ups and 100 push-ups in under five minutes.
With a number of Marines watching on at the Department of Defense, Hegseth managed to complete the challenge in 5:25 with RFK following just behind.
RFK Jr. said afterwards: ‘President Trump inspired us to do this. This is the beginning of our tour, challenging Americans to get back in shape. Eat better, but also, you need to get out and exercise.’
The duo then challenged Transport Secretary Sean Duffy to take part.
RFK Jr. competed against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a workout challenge
They want Americans to try and do 50 pull-ups and 100 push-ups in under five minutes
The pair were put through their paces with Marines present at the Department of Defense
Hegseth hopes the challenge will help America in its plans to develop ‘a war fighting force’
Hegseth later said the challenge will help America in its plans to develop ‘a war fighting force with young men and women who are prepared to defend the nation.’
He recently called a report that claimed two-thirds of reserve troops are overweight ‘unacceptable’ and promised to create change to make them ‘fit not fat.’
Back in April, The American Security Project said that 68 percent of America’s reserves are out of shape and demanded new policies to remedy the issue, saying it could cause problems should they be deployed.
Drafts of RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ plan emerged last week but some were surprised to see it did not call on the government to make significant changes to food or farming policies.
The plan is supposed to be one of Kennedy’s signature achievements and provide the government with a roadmap to improve the health of Americans.
Before coming to Washington, Kennedy had spent much of his career decrying the harms of chemicals sprayed on crops, prescription drugs, ultra-processed foods, and vaccines.
RFK Jr. has vowed to help Americans lose weight, reduce chronic diseases and exercise more
His coalition, then, has expected him to take bold action as the nation´s top health leader.
But a draft of the so-called ‘MAHA’ report, first reported by The New York Times, mostly called on the government to further study chronic diseases, bad air quality, Americans’ diets and prescription drug use.
The report lays out four problem areas – poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity and overuse of medications – that are to blame for chronic diseases in the US.
The White House has held off on publicly releasing the report, which was submitted to Trump last week.
