{"id":60377,"date":"2018-05-30T22:52:37","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T05:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=60377"},"modified":"2018-05-30T22:52:37","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T05:52:37","slug":"president-trump-delivers-remarks-and-participates-in-the-white-house-sports-and-fitness-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=60377","title":{"rendered":"President Trump Delivers Remarks and Participates in the White House Sports and Fitness Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, this is very special.  And thank you all for being here.  Thrilled to welcome so many young athletes \u2014 and these are really great athletes \u2014 to the White House for a very special White House Sports and Fitness Day.  I want to thank Secretary Azar.  Thank you, Secretary.   Fantastic job you\u2019re doing.  (Applause.)  Assistant Secretary Giroir, and Surgeon General Adams for being here.  That\u2019s great.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thanks also to Ivanka for her leadership in refocusing the Council.  She\u2019s worked so hard on this.  She works hard on everything, actually.  (Applause.)  Huh?  Come here.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9UMo0ZcRgf8\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I just want to thank \u2014 and she really, she\u2019s helping to bring together all these amazing leaders and athletes who will work to break down barriers to youth sports participation and empower each child to reach his or her full potential through sport and through play.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to thank the many state and local officials here.  There are a lot of them here.  Some of them I recognize, some of whom are actually quite famous, actually.  And they\u2019re all here today to support in helping to make this day and the Council a tremendous success.  I think that\u2019s what it\u2019s going to be.  It will be a great, great success.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m delighted to welcome the announced members of the President\u2019s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.  These leaders are committed to getting America\u2019s youth onto the field and into the game.  The Council will be co-chaired by three of the biggest legends in American sports history.  That\u2019s true.  First of all, one of baseball\u2019s greatest to ever play the game.  Thirteen-time all-star pitcher for the Yankees.  I have watched him win so many games.  Does winning get boring to you, Mariano?<\/p>\n<p>RIVERA:  Nope.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Never, right?<\/p>\n<p>RIVERA:  Never, never, never.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019ve watched him win so many.  The incredible Mariano Rivera.  (Applause.)  And I have to tell you, I was with some people the other day, some very knowledgeable baseball people, and they were talking, \u201cWho was the greatest pitcher ever?\u201d  And you don\u2019t think of a reliever as the greatest.  And three of them said, \u201cMariano was the greatest to ever pitch.\u201d  I would say that\u2019s not bad.  Right?<\/p>\n<p>RIVERA:  No, that\u2019s not bad at all.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You\u2019ve heard it before.  You\u2019ve heard that, right?  He\u2019s heard that before.<\/p>\n<p>Second, a giant of American football, an incredible guy.  I know him; he\u2019s my friend.  And he was a big supporter right from the beginning.  It\u2019s always good when they know you and they support you.  If they know you and they don\u2019t support you, that\u2019s trouble.  Right?  The great Herschel Walker.  What an amazing guy.  (Applause.)  Thanks, Herschel.<\/p>\n<p>And finally, three-time Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball.  The really incredible \u2014 and I\u2019ve watched her so much, mostly on television, unfortunately \u2014 Misty May-Treanor.  Incredible talent.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And you know, we have Bill Belichick is also \u2014 and he\u2019s working already with the team.  But he\u2019s one of the great coaches ever, without question.  And he\u2019s my friend.<\/p>\n<p>And we have the Wake Forest NCAA championship tennis team here.  Where are they?  Are they around here some \u2014 oh, look at these guys.  One of them is 6\u201911\u201d.  (Applause.)  I assume he has a very, very powerful serve.  And Patrick is back there.  But congratulations.  That\u2019s a tremendous achievement.  They\u2019ve won just about everything in tennis.  That team is fantastic.  And we have a beautiful tennis court if you guys want to practice.  Okay?  Anytime.  So that\u2019s Wake Forest.<\/p>\n<p>And there\u2019s a man that went to Wake Forest named Arnold Palmer.  And not a bad golfer.  Right?  Not a bad golfer.  He was something special.  The Demon Deacon\u2019s tennis team.  Thank you very much.  It\u2019s great that you\u2019re here.  Congratulations.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So all of these titans of American sport know that many of life\u2019s most valuable lessons are learned on the field of competition.  There, young Americans will discover \u2014 that\u2019s what they do, they discover \u2014 they\u2019re learning all the time the importance of teamwork, social skills \u2014 Do I have social skills?  I don\u2019t know.  I have social media, that\u2019s for sure.  (Laughter.)  I don\u2019t know about skill, but I have a lot of media \u2014 and the ability to overcome adversity, making lifelong friends all along the way.<\/p>\n<p>The skills learned out on the track field, and the court, and the diamond, and the gridiron, and the golf course, and those tennis courts are skills that will serve young Americans for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank all of the councilmembers who are here with us today \u2014 incredible group of people.  Each of you joined this important effort because athletes have meant so much to your own lives, and you want to share that, with great love and great affection, for the next generation.  People have tremendous respect for these great athletes.  I grew up \u2014 so much respect for the athletes.<\/p>\n<p>You know that sports teach young people the value of patience, and perseverance, hard work, and determination.  You also know these experiences can\u2019t be replicated on a cell phone or a game console; they really have to be learned and lived on the field of practice, with lots of sweat, lots of hard work, and lots of determination.  And you\u2019re winners all.<\/p>\n<p>Participating in sports builds character, forges friendships, tears down barriers, and brings people from all walks of like closer together.  I\u2019ve loved sports all of my life.  I always loved the people of sports, but I have loved sports all of my life.<\/p>\n<p>Sports also helps kids stay off the street and stay out of trouble.  Students who participate in sports have up to 40 percent higher test scores.  That one I\u2019ve never heard.  That\u2019s pretty impressive.  That\u2019s pretty impressive.  Are 15 percent more likely to attend college and have 8 percent higher annual earnings later on.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, in recent years, youth participation in sports has been declining.  In 2016, only 37 percent of young kids played team sports on a regular basis, down from 45 percent from 10 years ago.  And the decline has been even worse among students from low-income families.  We must reverse these trends, and we will.  We\u2019re making it possible for you to do that.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, for the first time in history, I have directed this council to work with the White House and Secretary Azar to develop a national strategy to increase youth participation.  Can you handle it?  Huh?  He can handle a lot, this guy.<\/p>\n<p>We want every American child to know the amazing feeling when they serve that final ace, like our great team over there.  They served a lot of aces, didn\u2019t you?  When they beat the buzzer, when they drive across that goal line, or when they hit it out of the park, we want them to experience the satisfaction that comes with knowing \u201cyou left it all on the field\u201d \u2014 a very great expression.  We use it in business.  We use it in everything.  \u201cYou left it on the field.\u201d  And we got that expression from sports.<\/p>\n<p>But most of all, we want our youth to learn these valuable lessons while creating opportunities for a better future for themselves, their families, and their great communities that they love.<\/p>\n<p>To begin the work of the President\u2019s Council and to underscore just how important sports are for America\u2019s youth, it\u2019s now my honor to kick off an exciting White House Field Day.  That\u2019s very, very valuable grass that you\u2019re sitting on, all right?  Doesn\u2019t get any more valuable.<\/p>\n<p>We have volleyball Misty May.  We have soccer, track and field, baseball, flag football, and we have golf.  I love golf.  So to everyone here today, I say: Work hard, get in the game, play to win, and, most of all, have a good time.  Have fun.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you all for being in the White House.  This is a very special day.  It\u2019s a very special place.  And have a great life.  We have a great country.  Have a great life.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you all very much.<\/p>\n<p>END<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, this is very special. And thank you all for being here. Thrilled to welcome so many young athletes \u2014 and these are really great athletes \u2014 to the White House for a very special White House Sports and Fitness Day. I want to thank Secretary Azar. Thank you, Secretary. Fantastic job you\u2019re doing. 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