Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is seizing on voter concerns about the mental and physical fitness of President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 77, by tapping into Kennedy's zeal for working out.
Kennedy, 70, whose shirtless workout in a video last summer went viral on social media, on Tuesday launched the AmericaMoves challenge, encouraging physical activity for at least 24 minutes a day, the Washington Examiner reported.
Kennedy's campaign said the program "has set out to ignite a wellness revolution," according to the Examiner. The challenge began at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and will continue for the next two months.
Many have speculated on whether Biden suffers from cognitive decline due to his often-incoherent speeches and notable falls on the staircase leading to Air Force One and at last year's commencement ceremony at the Air Force Academy.
Trump also raised eyebrows after he got former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley confused with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during a speech last week in New Hampshire, with Haley, Trump's lone remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination, implying that he is mentally unfit to be president.
"I'll let you know when I go bad," Trump said Saturday during a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire. "I really think I'll be able to tell you because some day, we go bad. They always say like Haley, she talks about, We don't need 80-year-olds … I don't mind being 80, but I'm 77, that's a big difference. … They always like to mention age. It's not age, different people, different strokes. … I feel my mind is stronger now than it was 25 years ago. Is that possible? I really do."
Kennedy's father, the former senator from New York and U.S. attorney general, and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, grew up in a household devoted to athletic activity, with his father lettering in football at Harvard in 1946 and 1947, according to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.
JFK frequently addressed physical fitness in public speeches. His President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports devised a fitness curriculum with the cooperation of 19 major U.S. educational and medical organizations, according to the JFK Library.
The council drove to achieve widespread participation in the program for the 1961-62 school year. Almost 250,000 schoolchildren participated. Plus, there was more awareness of physical education programs across the country.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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