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.

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37

u/Connect-Succotash-59 4d ago

W. Bush gotta be up there pitcher and a fighter pilot, plus watch his drive.

20

u/Scooter1021 4d ago

Also famously needed a special security detail for his super long runs. The man loved to run.

1

u/throwawaywitchaccoun 3d ago

I forgot that. I'm going W, even though he specialized in distance.

-25

u/CowboySoothsayer 4d ago

He was a cheerleader. Lol

35

u/eyedoc11 4d ago

Yeah. Cheerleaders are famously out of shape.

6

u/TotallyNotACook 4d ago

Right like, sure he’s a war criminal, most presidents are, but trying to use cheerleading as a mark against his athleticism is insane haha. It’s a more dangerous sport than football when it comes to serious injuries and takes crazy cardio.

8

u/catBravo 4d ago

But did you watch his drive?

1

u/CowboySoothsayer 4d ago

That was an all-time classic. W. was truly awful, but he seems quaint and kind and genius-level compared to today.

4

u/RICO_the_GOP 4d ago

So fine tuned athletes that have to have serious core strength?

2

u/CowboySoothsayer 4d ago

Bush was a “yell leader.” He wasn’t doing gymnastics like cheerleaders do today.

1

u/ArgumentAny4365 3d ago

Pound-for-pound, cheerleaders are probably stronger athletes than most of the players in the games where they cheer.

1

u/CowboySoothsayer 3d ago

Depends upon the sport and the type of cheerleader. A yell leader or cheerleader in the early 1960s wasn’t doing gymnastics or lifting. It was a far different endeavor than it is today. Eisenhower, FDR, and Reagan were also cheerleaders at some point. All those probably just led students in chants. No one was doing backflips or back hand springs. It was not an athletic performance like now. I wasn’t putting down cheerleaders today—just clowning on W. I swear, people are so sensitive today.