The president is facing backlash after discussing graphic details of the Iran war while surrounded by young schoolchildren.
On May 5, Donald Trump brought back the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, a long-running program that was discontinued during the Obama administration.
The recognition is linked to the Presidential Fitness Test, which Trump moved to restore through an executive order signed last summer.
To highlight the relaunch, a group of students visited the White House and took part in sports activities on the South Lawn.
Addressing reporters with the children nearby, Trump spoke about physical education and what he wants schools to emphasize in the years ahead (per PBS): “My administration is working very hard to defend America’s cherished athletic traditions and pass our values of excellence and competitiveness to the next generation.”
However, fitness was not the only subject raised during the appearance, as Trump also turned to the conflict with Iran and spoke at length about it in front of the students.
During a Q&A inside the Oval Office, he answered a question about Iran by saying: “They would have had a nuclear weapon. And, remember, we sent that beautiful B-2 bomber in.”
He continued: “We blew up their nuclear potential,” before adding: “It was obliterated.”
He later suggested that the outcome could have been catastrophic if Iran had obtained nuclear capability, with The Independent reporting he implied that ‘maybe we wouldn’t all be here right now’.
Trump also claimed: “I can tell you, the Middle East would have been gone. Israel would have been gone. And they would have trained their sights on Europe, first, and then us.”
In a separate exchange, another reporter asked whether he believed protesters in Iran could remove the country’s government, prompting him to offer a detailed description of alleged violence there.
“You can have 200,000 people protesting and have five or six sick people with guns, and when they start shooting them right between the eyes, and you see a guy fall, and another one fall, and you have no guns,” Trump said as the schoolchildren remained standing beside him.
TRUMP TO SCHOOL KIDS: “Iran was two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon and killing you.”
ENOUGH. It’s one thing to watch him lie to the American people but lying to and propagandizing kids on national television is TOO FAR. pic.twitter.com/oqD6DmrxYA
— Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) May 5, 2026
Following the event, critics online accused the president of crossing a line by discussing such topics in front of kids.
Posting a clip from the press conference, one person wrote: “ENOUGH. It’s one thing to watch him lie to the American people but lying to and propagandizing kids on national television is TOO FAR.”
Another commenter said: “Trump told school kids Iran was ‘2 weeks away from having a nuclear weapon and killing you.’ No evidence. No context. Just fear, aimed at children who weren’t alive for Iraq.”
Someone else called the remarks ‘sickening’, adding: “This is sickening! Why talk about such a distressing situation in front of kids who were extremely likely NOT THERE TO HEAR ABOUT IRAN.”
They continued: “Let parents handle that conversation for a variety of reasons!”
The White House has been contacted for comment.