r/whowouldwin • u/retired-tweeter • 4d ago

Battle All 47 US Presidents are running against each other in a 40 yard dash. Who wins?

Every U.S. President is magically cloned into their peak physical form, dropped onto a football field, and lined up for a 40-yard dash. Who ya got?

Favorites:

JFK: 2 sport college athlete, plus military training. Swam 3.5 miles towing an injured soldier with a bad back.

Gerald Ford: Another strong military background who was a two-way football player at Michigan.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Extensive military career, who played halfback at west point until his injury. Guessing he was a little fast even in segregated times

Barack Obama: Gonna get a lot of votes here probably as one of the only presidents we've seen in action playing an athletic sport, but no athletic background, so you know, can't give him too much credit

Donald Trump: In doing my 20 minutes worth of research, I came across this quote from a Ted Levine in 2015 (In an article about Trump running in 2016 so...take that as you will) "He was just the best, a good athlete, a great athlete," Levine said. "He could have probably played pro ball as a pitcher. I think he threw 80 miles an hour.... He was physically and mentally gifted." So there's that (Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-high-school-classmates-what-he-was-like-2015-10)

All in All, I'd lean Gerald Ford. JFK had injury issues so who knows what his "prime" would have been athletically. Maybe at absolute peak and health, JFK could win, but I'm going with the 2-way football player from Michigan.

794 Upvotes

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274

u/ZerconFlagpoleSitter 4d ago

Ford was a center and linebacker it’s not him. I’m going JFK

82

u/Larang5716 4d ago

Wasn't Clinton a running back?

91

u/spikebrennan ​ 4d ago

Richard Nixon was a tackle.

Ronald Reagan was a lineman

Joe Biden was a really good wide receiver at the high school level

George W Bush played high school ball for his prep school but I don’t know what position

76

u/theguineapigssong 4d ago

W was noted as a very fast runner during his Presidency, to the point it was a hassle for his security detail to keep up with him during his runs. If the race were held for Presidents DURING their Presidency, he's definitely the winner

54

u/fl4tsc4n 4d ago

W has also got SHARP reflexes. Mf dodges shoes like a pro at 50+

1

u/Laszlo-Panaflex 2d ago

If there's an obstacle course involved, he's definitely winning.

1

u/fl4tsc4n 2d ago

I'm picturing him dashing around doing his little snicker

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u/imprison_grover_furr 4d ago

Yup! Dubya was one fast runner!

5

u/YourCummyBear 4d ago

Didn’t he run a pretty fast marathon (for his age) too in the 90s?

-3

u/milochuisael 4d ago

Surely W isn’t in his 90s yet. Do you mean bush sr

3

u/Sekh765 ​ 4d ago

Sit down Leslie Nealson.

1

u/Thanos_Stomps ​ 4d ago

I’d still take Obama or JFK in a 40 yard dash. Being fast long distance is not indicative of sprint speed and Obama played a sport well that involves a lot of sprinting.

1

u/TurboRadical 3d ago

You're conflating different definitions of fast.

9

u/Loretta-West 4d ago

TIL you could form quite a good presidential football team.

1

u/fl4tsc4n 4d ago

Football is as American as apple pie. We love a man who plays a lil ball.

36

u/Thecramosreddit 4d ago

It might be Joe Biden then because playing wr in a state that had a population of over 11 million in 1961 means he was no slouch.

17

u/YourCummyBear 4d ago

Anyone can play sports in high school. It doesn’t mean you’re any good.

7

u/RegularJoe62 4d ago

True, but that's one of the fastest positions on the field.

2

u/MrAmishJoe 3d ago

Were talking highschool though. Source ..I was high school reciever. Even started some games. I never broke a 5 second 40

1

u/RegularJoe62 3d ago

True enough. I was a cross country runner. Compared to some random guy on the street, I was probably pretty fast, but in competition I was just an average, middle of the pack guy.

Even though he was a WR (and supposedly a good one), it's hard to say if a fast HS wide out would be faster than a college linebacker. If I was to place a bet without having seen either of them play, I'd probably put my money on Ford over Biden.

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u/NopeNotConor 4d ago

I thought W was a cheerleader

9

u/MeesterMeeseeks 4d ago

Think that was college

2

u/OuiTuLow 4d ago

wasn't W also a cheerleader?

3

u/don-again 4d ago

Obama has great jeans.

1

u/fl4tsc4n 4d ago

Not football but Barry O has that L A S E R jump shot too

1

u/sebblMUC 4d ago

Eisenhower was a RB

1

u/El_Bean69 3d ago

A counter universe where Joe Biden is just a Steve Largent or Don Hutson level legend makes me laugh I can see it clearly

22

u/ZerconFlagpoleSitter 4d ago

Oh maybe him then

20

u/foxlight92 4d ago

I remember reading somewhere (like 10+ years ago) that Clinton used to jog a lot, at least during his presidency. I was pretty young when he was in office but, for some reason, that bit of info stuck with me.

19

u/Dewgong_crying 4d ago

He would run to McDonald's, and he got shit for it because of the high calorie meal but he wanted to set an image as an average Joe.

7

u/foxlight92 4d ago

I think that's also what I read - he'd jog with the Secret Service to McDonald's. Hell, at least he tried to get some physical activity during a period of his life that he probably didn't have a whole lot of free time. IIRC, he was quite... Humble as compared to other executive branch leaders we may have had.

4

u/Dewgong_crying 4d ago

Yeah, I remember getting news magazines for kids in the 90s at school and seeing it.

2

u/spikebrennan ​ 4d ago

Carter jogged too (but not particularly quickly)- fishing was more his style.

2

u/theguineapigssong 4d ago

He was frequently photographed jogging; I'm old enough to remember that.

2

u/JoeSicko 4d ago

Those running shorts traumatized us all.

6

u/TheOriginalJBones 4d ago

He used to jog around downtown Little Rock. My high school algebra teacher accidentally whacked him with his truck mirror.

1

u/Epocholypze 4d ago

Clinton was in band.

1

u/IronicDoom 2d ago

No he didn’t play college football

1

u/TheManWith2Poobrains 4d ago

He also played rugby.

1

u/Cody_the_created 4d ago

And Clinton famously jogged multi-miles every morning. He was in pretty good shape..

10

u/lukkynumber 4d ago

You’re saying you don’t think he was fast, because he didn’t play CB or WR? 😂

I don’t care what era it was, dude was a college athlete. Dude could book it, I’m quite sure. Him being 61 years old at inauguration is the reason why I doubt he’d win, not because of where he played on the gridiron.

I’d imagine this goes to JFK overall just due to age at presidency PLUS athletic background.

4

u/TormundIceBreaker 4d ago

It's at their physical peak, not how old they were when they were elected. Election age would make a good Round 2 though

1

u/Sekh765 ​ 4d ago

Election age is a way more interesting question I think since otherwise it's basically just a question of which of these generic young ppl was the most athletic.

1

u/HourFaithlessness823 3d ago

JFK had a ton of medical issues.

8

u/urAllincorrect 4d ago edited 4d ago

Linebackers can be fast and gerald ford may have had a 4.6 40 time (no official records exist). Thats not slow by any means.

Edit: I fucked up and looked at a different Gerald Fords 40 time.

6

u/ciddasloth 4d ago

A 4.6 would make Ford legendarily fast (Jim Brown ran a ‘legendary’ 4.5 in the 50s) for the time period. It’s much more likely he ran something in the 5.Xs, which is still extremely respectable. It’s also worth noting that nowadays guys begin to train for the 40 in high school - something Ford never would have done as the 40 yd dash wasn’t a football drill until the mid 1940s, at which point Ford had graduated law school. Because he wouldn’t have had an advantage of having trained for the event, I don’t think his football background is as helpful as it might seem at first glance.

6

u/urAllincorrect 4d ago

Holy shit. I really fucked up here. I looked up Gerald Fords 40 time and it was 4.6. That all is true.

My tired ass looked up the wrong gerald ford...that 40 time was in 2014.

In sorry yall. Gotta take the L on this.

6

u/DefaultUsername11442 4d ago

If he could run a 4.6 eight years after he died, imagine how fast he was in his prime.

24

u/septagons 4d ago

Jfk for sure. Obama is a contender but JFK was five years younger when elected and only an inch shorter

31

u/chakrablocker ​ 4d ago

he had a bad back tho, his prime was over

30

u/rexus_mundi 4d ago

The prompt says they will be in their peak physical form

11

u/septagons 4d ago

Oh shit yeah I'm dumb

9

u/Ak_Lonewolf 4d ago

I say JFK comes out a head in the end.

4

u/Key-Tip-7521 4d ago

Back and to the left

4

u/Heroic_Sheperd 4d ago

He has a good shot to win

2

u/Ak_Lonewolf 4d ago

He will go so fast they will name him "the magic bullet".

7

u/Defiant-Youth-4193 4d ago

Why would their height matter in a 40?

12

u/teddy_tesla ​ 4d ago

Why is Obama a contender? We have D1 athletes in the running. Seems like everyone chooses Obama because they believe he is "naturally gifted"

6

u/RegularJoe62 4d ago

I think because Obama was probably the most fit as president.

At his physical peak, Obama probably played a lot of basketball, but was never a D1 varsity athlete.

3

u/Eyre_Guitar_Solo 2d ago

I don’t know if we have good all-around fitness data, but W was almost certainly faster than Obama as President. W was quite a good runner, and would famously invite members of the press to join him, and absolutely wear them out. (I believe he has some 5K times that are a matter of public record.)

But aside from run times, this question is hard to quantify, especially once they’re in office.

2

u/SummonedShenanigans 2d ago

Dude was still smoking cigs pretty regularly while in office. A lot of people in this thread seem to think that because he likes to shoot he'd be a good sprinter.

5

u/YourCummyBear 4d ago

He was elected young and is still fit but most people are forgetting these old white guys elected came from extremely well off backgrounds and were athletes in their youth.

1

u/teddy_tesla ​ 4d ago

magically cloned into their peak physical form

4

u/YourCummyBear 4d ago

I was agreeing with you lol.

1

u/mikeymo1741 3d ago

Jimmy the Greek is in this sub

-8

u/DudeEngineer 4d ago

It's because pre 1970 D1 is just not in the same leage with like post 80s. The first sub 4.4 40 wasn't until 2006.

8

u/theguineapigssong 4d ago

Deion Sanders ran a 4.27 40 at the 1989 NFL combine.

2

u/TurboRadical 3d ago

bro just asked AI and trusted the answer

For a long time, the official NFL combine tracker website only listed results from 2006 onward. I am 100% sure that's why the AI gave you the answer that it did, but there were likely hundreds of recorded sub 4.4s before 2006.

3

u/RocketDog2001 4d ago

TR had that motor.

1

u/GenoThyme 4d ago

OP said they’re in peak physical form.

0

u/epursimuove 4d ago

Peak form Obama is a smoker, though.

2

u/object109 4d ago

Back then they’re wasn’t as much of a weight discrepancy.

1

u/OdinMartok 4d ago

No disrespect to the man, but JFK was essentially crippled his entire presidency. The vigor and activity was a carefully curated image to play up his youngest president image. He had maybe 4 “healthy” years between childhood and death.

He only got into the navy due to connections, and had to join the reserve despite it being the middle of WW2 because his back problems were so bad already.

He had osteoporosis, Addison’s disease (diagnosed at age 30), hypothyroidism, and celiac. There are photos of him being carried onto Air Force 1.

His most impressive athletic feat was that he navigated the Cuban missle crisis while pumped full of steroids and opioids.

1

u/TheReal_Jeses 13h ago

Ford would be in the championship if it was a fist fight tournament though. I think he takes Teddy but people would disagree.

So yeah probably not the fastest considering some others were running backs but I think he was the best overall athlete.