First daughter Ivanka Trump’s tweet about the poor state of American children’s fitness had a tiny moment in the sun ― before a retired Army general reminded her that her dad has eviscerated the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition.
The council’s key mission: to improve the health and fitness of Americans ... including kids.
Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a CNN analyst and physical fitness advocate, was appointed a member of the council in 2013 and served through the rest of the Obama administration.
He points out that no one is on the council anymore:
Early in his presidency, Donald Trump increased the number of members of the 60-year-old council from 25 to 30. (He also modified its name.) How many members has he actually appointed to the council? None. The federal government’s “Meet the Council” website tells visitors that members are still “to be announced.”
Holli Richmond was appointed as executive director last month, but she has no one to meet with.
Hertling wasn’t the only person to respond to Ivanka Trump’s tweet by mentioning former first lady Michelle Obama.
While in the White House, Obama promoted children’s health through nutrition and physical activity with her “Let’s Move” campaign, launched in 2010. The Obama administration also instituted requirements for healthier school lunches, which Trump has postponed.
Other Twitter users mentioned that children would probably be healthier if their health insurance wasn’t being whittled away and if they could have clean air and water.
Hertling later shared a photo of some of the council’s members posing with former President Barack Obama in 2015. They never got to celebrate the group’s 60th anniversary, he noted.