Brian Kilmeade urges compassion for kids in fitness test discussion
Brian Kilmeade said gym teachers should be cognizant of heavier or less athletic children during a May 6, 2026, discussion on ' Fox & Friends about the presidential fitness test. He objected to mocking kids and said they should not be traumatized.
Kilmeade brought up children who are embarrassed, children who do not exercise, and kids from single-parent or latchkey homes who may get their only exercise at school. Charles Hurt and Ainsley Earhardt pushed back in different ways, turning the segment into a live dispute over how school fitness programs should be framed.
Brian Kilmeade on heavier kids
“So is this okay with you guys?” Kilmeade asked during the segment. He then said, “I thought, Gillian Turner was hosting for Trace last night. I thought she had a good point, she goes there are some kids that are heavy and they're embarrassed, and I just think the gym teacher's got to be cognizant of that.”
He added, “Sometimes they don't exercise,” and said, “You know, single parent family, latchkey kids, whatever it is, there are kids that this is the only exercise they get.” Kilmeade also said, “Be positive. Yeah, be positive. You don't want kids traumatized.”
Charles Hurt on the playground
Hurt answered, “Oh yeah of course.” He said, “But that's the whole point of having the program, is that your friends make you like, get in shape and do it.”
When Kilmeade asked, “You mean mock them?” Hurt replied, “Well a little bit, I mean that's kind of the point of the playground —” He later said, “I never had a nice gym teacher, all my gym teachers were the meanest,” and, “I just care about the health of the child.”
Ainsley Earhardt and MAHA
Earhardt said, “I like it.” She added, “It helps with childhood obesity. I like it.” She also said, “They will. They will, That's what a teacher is supposed to do.”
She tied the discussion to the MAHA movement, saying, “It is a part of the MAHA movement, this is part of the, a central part of the MAHA movement, so they're trying to combat childhood obesity.” Earhardt also said, “So that is the point of this to try to get the kids and you don't just all of a sudden run a mile. You have to work your way up.”
Fox & Friends exchange
Earhardt told Kilmeade, “Well that's so not like Brian, it's like playing the victim card kind of.” She then said, “I mean you, the whole point of this is to get healthy, to get our children healthy.”
The exchange left Kilmeade arguing for encouragement and Hurt defending a tougher approach. The segment centered on whether school gym teachers should push children through the presidential fitness test with mockery, pressure, or support.
