这场名为 “爱国者运动会” 的活动对外宣传是青少年体育赛事，实则也是一次爱国主题品牌宣传的试水。
活动设定听起来近乎虚构：全美各州、海外领地及部分印第安部落各选出一名男孩、一名女孩，搭乘专机前往俄亥俄州一处私人园区，参加电视直播障碍竞技赛事 ——“爱国者运动会”。这项由特朗普力推的青少年赛事包含障碍闯关、爱国主题演讲环节，外界难免将其与小说、电影《饥饿游戏》对比。
但和那部反乌托邦作品里青少年生死厮杀的电视竞技不同，这场运动会没有性命之忧。男女组别冠军将各获得 12.5 万美元大学奖学金。
16 岁的泰莉・赫尔曼参赛初衷十分直白。她在报名视频中介绍了自己的年龄、亚利桑那州就读学校，以及参赛理由：希望 “让爱国精神重回美国”。
赫尔曼是切罗基部落代表，她在接受 CNN 采访时表示：“当下很多时候，我能感受到民众四分五裂。我们需要一件事凝聚所有人，毕竟我们是美利坚合众国，本该更加团结。”
但赫尔曼坦言，她已经体会到这项赛事极具争议。
“不少亲友得知我要参赛后，直接不再和我往来。” 谈及自己参赛的决定，赫尔曼说道。 “我身边很多人表示厌恶这个国家，只因他们不满政府。但我认为，爱国情怀从来不属于任何一个政党。”
欢迎收听 CNN 播客栏目《一件事》最新一期，聆听参赛选手的心声。
本周末赛事全程在 ESPN 平台直播，美国广播公司(ABC)将于 8 月 13 日黄金档播出赛事特辑。值美国建国 250 周年之际，特朗普政府借这场赛事，大肆宣扬尚武、坚毅的美式体育政治。
今年夏季，“自由 250” 组织接连举办多场大型主题活动，“爱国者运动会” 正是其中之一。该组织由特朗普扶持，此前已在白宫草坪举办综合格斗赛事，现场安排军机低空飞越;还在国家广场举办全美州际博览会，以及华盛顿盛大的 7 月 4 日独立日烟花秀。
去年特朗普曾宣称，这场赛事将汇聚 “全美顶尖高中生运动员”。但从目前筹备情况来看，活动更偏向一场精心策划的青少年爱国主题展演，而非专业体育竞技比拼。
CNN 采访了五名参赛选手，并浏览了油管等平台大量公开报名视频，视频里学生们展示后空翻、跑酷等运动技能。
然而运动能力并非选拔参赛选手的唯一标准，入选者的背景也高度趋同。报名者需要录制视频，回答一系列问题，阐述参赛动机、体育运动如何塑造自身认知;报名表还要求填写本州以外，与自身、家庭、文化、军旅或社区存在深厚羁绊的地区。
报名表强制要求填写生理性别。去年官宣赛事时，特朗普承诺：“本赛事绝不允许男性参与女子组别竞技。”
参赛选手年龄限定 14 至 17 岁，包含现役军人子女、预备役军官训练团学员与在家自学的学生。翻看 “自由 250” 官方社交账号发布的选手资料，多数人就读私立教会学校，且绝大多数为白人;报名表并未设置种族填写项。
部分选手代表的州并非自己的常住地：波多黎各代表是一名得克萨斯州少年;新泽西州代表在得州私立教会学校就读;马萨诸塞州女选手、16 岁的波比・维克斯，实际在加州上学。
维克斯表示，最初得知自己不代表加州时十分意外。 “很多人问我，为什么代表马萨诸塞州，而非家乡加州?” 她告诉 CNN，“但我觉得这很有意义，我的许多家人都来自这里，我最爱的篮球队也是波士顿凯尔特人队。”
赫尔曼同时以亚利桑那州居民、切罗基部落公民双重身份报名。赛事主办方核查了她的背景，还向切罗基部落核实了她的部落成员身份。
众多选手在社交平台发布视频，不少人宣扬基督教信仰，当面感谢特朗普给予参赛机会;也有人分享篮球、长曲棍球、举重等运动爱好。
一名北卡罗来纳州选手隶属于 “美国俱乐部” 地方分部，该项目由保守派机构 “转折点美国” 创办，该组织创始人是已故活动家查理・柯克。这名选手做客保守派油管博主亚当・弗朗西斯科的节目，被问及 WNBA 球员索菲・坎宁安反对跨性别女性参与女子体育的言论。这段采访视频发布在社交平台，配文写道：“高中生都能明白的道理，左翼为何视而不见?”
“自由 250” 发言人丹妮尔・阿尔瓦雷斯发布声明，称这场赛事是为致敬 “美国新一代领袖、竞技者与冠军”。“‘自由 250’很荣幸打造一系列标志性活动凝聚全美民众 —— 自由卡车巡游、独立日庆典，以及 2026 爱国者运动会，共同礼赞国家、激励下一代。” 特朗普的体育情结
早在 2023 年开启第二任期竞选时，特朗普就首次放出 “爱国者运动会” 风声。他在竞选视频中规划美国建国 250 周年庆祝方案，宣称将举办面向高中生的大型体育赛事，让各州青年一展美式竞技实力、体育精神与拼搏意志。
体育元素在特朗普第二任期频繁亮相。2025 年，他成为首位亲临超级碗现场的在任总统，还出席过 NBA 总决赛、美网公开赛、戴通纳 500 赛车、世界杯决赛。本月晚些时候，华盛顿市中心印地赛车街道赛也得益于特朗普推动，得以加速落地。
得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校体育传播与媒体中心主任迈克尔・L・巴特沃思评价：“在我所知的历任总统里，没有谁像他这般，极力将体育与自身政治形象绑定。”
赛事举办地为俄亥俄州日内瓦市的斯派尔学院，这是一所寄宿制体育特训学校，2016 年特朗普曾在此举办竞选集会。白宫新闻发言人卡罗琳・莱维特、“自由 250” 官方账号均透露，特朗普计划出席周二的赛事总决赛。
本届政府推出两项面向青少年、宣扬爱国精神的竞赛活动，“爱国者运动会” 是其中之一。当下青年群体大多对特朗普及美国现状观感消极，盖洛普 2026 年 6 月民调显示，18 至 34 岁青年中，仅 14% 表示自己 “极度为美国感到自豪”。
另一项赛事是 6 月举办的 “1776 总统奖”，高中生决赛选手现场作答美国历史、政体相关考题，优胜者可斩获最高 15 万美元奖学金。美国教育部上月称，该赛事电视直播吸引 163 万实时观众。
但这项历史知识竞赛如今深陷争议。
15 岁康涅狄格州少年安加德・辛格的家人公开质疑赛事评分公正性，上月向媒体 NOTUS 表示，辛格部分答题被误判，理应跻身前三名。参众两院多名民主党议员与辛格家属一同，要求教育部公开完整评分细则。
民主党联邦参议员克里斯・墨菲上周发布视频，指控这名印度移民之子辛格惨遭淘汰，主办方刻意扶持契合特朗普政治主张的选手。三名最终优胜者均为白人，其中一人在 CNN 采访中明确表态支持特朗普。
墨菲质问：“这场赛事标榜凭历史知识择优，却只因孩子父母是移民，就剥夺他获奖资格，该作何解释?”
美国教育部向 CNN 作出回应，称所有参赛选手赛前均同意，赛事评委由詹姆斯・麦迪逊纪念奖学金基金会专员担任，“评委秉持公正原则，拥有完整评分裁量权”。 “选手们也清楚，直播赛事中评委需现场即时研判、集体商议。本次赛事竞争激烈、比分胶着，辛格本身是一名十分优秀的参赛者。” 教育部补充道。 “对我来说有点赌运气”
主办方告知选手，赛事采用积分制，各轮竞技成绩最优者积分最高。几名接受 CNN 采访的学生对团队项目(如躲避球)的个人计分规则感到困惑。
17 岁俄亥俄州选手利亚姆・尼斯说：“我不清楚团队赛怎么算个人分，这对我来说有点赌运气。队伍实力参差不齐，能不能分到强队全凭运气。”
尼斯向 CNN 介绍，自己是从网红 “比比恩奶奶”(本名阿莱塔・凯・迪迪尔)那里得知这项赛事。这名网红主打传统价值观宣传，个人简介写道希望 “培育新一代母亲”。
俄勒冈州选手塔图姆・帕尔默同样通过迪迪尔了解赛事;密苏里州选手麦迪逊・格莱斯则是受空军母亲鼓励报名，当时空军基地全员都收到了赛事宣传邮件。
尼斯报名视频展示了后空翻技能，他每天练习后空翻并录制视频发布社交平台。他童年大半时间在比利时生活，初中才搬回美国。
他说，小时候在比利时，外界对美国的刻板印象就是 “遍地牛仔、乡野粗人”。如今他对美国有了全新认知：“我更能看清这片土地蕴藏的发展机遇。”
油管上数十条报名视频道出青少年的参赛诉求：南卡罗来纳州一名四期癌症康复女孩，分享自己对游泳、田径的热爱;纽约一名田径排球双项运动员，希望奖金减轻自己与双胞胎兄弟的大学学费压力;一名 14 岁少年身穿网红柯克带火的黑色 “自由” T 恤，称参赛是为了 “让所有人看见俄克拉荷马州纯正的红州底色”。
赫尔曼参赛是为了圆梦弗吉尼亚州林奇堡市自由大学，这是一所福音派教会高校。她计划 20 岁前取得工商管理硕士学位，未来投身政务，甚至竞选国会议员、参议员。
“如果有机会，我希望能当上总统。” 她说道。
Trump’s Patriot Games are billed as a youth sports contest. They’re also a test of patriotic branding
The premise sounds almost fictional: one boy and one girl from every state, territory and some tribal nations, flown to a private campus in Ohio to compete in a televised athletic contest called the Patriot Games — a Trump-backed youth competition with obstacle courses, patriotic testimonials and inevitable comparisons toThe Hunger Games.
Except unlike the dystopian book and movie franchise where kids are pitted in a televised battle of survival, the stakes in the Patriot Games won’t be life and death. The male and female winners will each receive $125,000 in college scholarship money.
For 16-year-old Tylee Herrmann, the pitch was simple. In her video application, she gave her age, her school in Arizona and her reason for wanting to compete: she wanted to help “bring patriotism back to the US.”
“I feel like a lot of times right now, we feel disunified,” Herrmann, the Cherokee Nation representative, said in an interview with CNN. “I think we need something to bring us all together, because we’re the United States of America, and we need to be a little more united.”
However, Herrmann says she’s already experiencing how controversial the Patriot Games can be.
“There’s definitely been a number of people that just stopped talking to me,” said Herrmann, referring to her decision to compete in the games.
“I have a significant number of people that I know say that they hate the country because they hate the government,” Herrmann said, adding that “patriotism doesn’t belong to a political party.”
Hear more from the contestants on the latest episode ofCNN’s ‘One Thing’ podcast.
Streaming live over the weekend on ESPN with a primetime special airing on ABC Aug. 13, the Patriot Games are the latest example of the Trump administration elevating the politics of athleticism and toughness in celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
They come amid a long summer of spectacles put on by Freedom 250, the President Donald Trump-backed group that organized the UFC fight night on the White House lawn featuring a military flyover, plus the Great American State Fair on the National Mall and the immense July 4th fireworks display in Washington, DC.
Last year, Trump vowed that the games would feature “the greatest high school athletes.” However, the event appears to be shaping up to be more of a highly produced display of youth patriotism than athletic excellence.
CNN interviewed five Patriot Games competitors and reviewed numerous application videos posted online to YouTube and other platforms that showed students showing off skills such as backflips and parkour training.
Yet, athletic ability wasn’t the sole factor considered for participation in the competition, and those selected appear to have largely similar backgrounds. Contestants were asked to film a video answering a series of prompts about why they wanted to compete and to explain how sports have shaped their identity. They were also asked to list places outside their home state where they had a “meaningful personal, family, cultural, military, or community connection,” according to the application.
Applicants were required to list their biological sex. When announcing the games last year, Trump pledged that at the games, “there will be no men playing in women’s sports.”
Contestants ages 14 to 17 include children of active-duty military and JROTC participants, as well as homeschooled students. Of the kids featured in the Freedom 250 Instagram page, many attend private Christian schools. They also appear to be overwhelmingly White; the application for the Games did not ask to specify race.
Some students were chosen to represent states where they don’t reside. The pick for Puerto Rico is a young man from Texas. New Jersey’s ambassador attends a private Christian school in Texas. The female competitor for Massachusetts, 16-year-old Bobbi Vickers, attends school in California.
Vickers said she was initially surprised not to be representing California.
“I get a bunch of questions like, why are you representing Massachusetts and not your home state?” she told CNN. “But I think it’s really cool because a lot of my family is from there and my favorite basketball team is actually the Boston Celtics.”
Herrmann said she applied as both an Arizonan and as a citizen of the Cherokee tribe. She said the Freedom 250 organizers did a background check and verified with the Cherokee tribe that she’s a member.
In videos posted to Instagram, many of the competitors touted their Christian faith and thanked Trump personally for the opportunity, while others have posted about their interest in athletic pursuits like basketball, lacrosse or weightlifting at the gym.
One student representing North Carolina is a member of a local chapter of Club America, a high school program launched by Turning Point USA – the organization founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk. In an interview with conservative YouTube personality Adam Francisco, the student was asked about WNBA player Sophie Cunningham’s comments about barring transgender women from women’s sports. The video,posted to Instagram, was captioned, “High school athletes get it, why doesn’t the left?”
Freedom 250 spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez touted the games as a celebration of “America’s next generation of leaders, competitors and champions” in a statement. “Freedom 250 is proud to bring Americans together through unforgettable signature events — from the Freedom Trucks and July 4 celebrations to the 2026 Patriot Games — that celebrate our country and inspire the next generation.”
Trump’s affinity for sports
Trump first teased the Patriot Games during his bid for a second term in 2023. In a campaign video, he outlined plans for America’s 250th birthday and declared that “major sporting contests for high school athletes” would allow young people from “every state to show off the best of American skill, sportsmanship, and competitive spirit.”
Sports have featured heavily in Trump’s second term. He became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in person in 2025, and has appeared at the NBA finals, US Open, Daytona 500, and the World Cup Final. Trump was also instrumental in expediting plans for the Freedom 250 IndyCar street race in downtown Washington, DC, later this month.
“He has done more than any president that I can think of to try to graft sports onto his own identity,” said Michael L. Butterworth, director of the Center for Sports Communication & Media at The University of Texas at Austin.
The games are set to take place at the SPIRE Academy, a boarding school and sports training facility in Geneva, Ohio, which hosted a Trump campaign rally in 2016. According to White House press secretaryKaroline Leavittand theFreedom 250 Instagram account, Trump plans on visiting the games’ finale on Tuesday. They are one of two contests backed by the administration aimed at promoting patriotism in young Americans – a demographic that has largely soured on Trump and the country. According to a June 2026Gallup poll, just 14% of adults aged 18 to 34 said they were “extremely proud” to be an American.
The first contest was the Presidential 1776 Award in June, where high-school aged finalists answered questions about American history and government for a chance to win a scholarship worth up to $150,000. The broadcast drew 1.63 million live viewers on CBS, the Department of Education said last month.
But that contest has since become mired in controversy.
The family of Aangad Singh, a 15-year-old from Connecticut has publicly cast doubt on the results,telling NOTUS last month they believe some of his answers were incorrectly scored and that he should have been one of the three winners. Along with Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate, they’ve asked the Education Department to provide more information about the scoring.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy released a video last week where he alleged that Singh, who is the son of Indian immigrants, was sidelined to uplift contestants who better aligned with Trump’s agenda. All three of the finalists were White, and one identified as a Trump supporter in an interview with CNN.
“How do you justify running a merit-based competition based upon how much you know about American history, and then denying a kid a place in the winner’s circle, perhaps simply because his parents are immigrants,” Murphy asked.
In a statement to CNN, the Education Department said that all contestants had agreed that judges — fellows from the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation — “would judge the competition in good faith with full discretion over scoring.”
“They also understood that in the live competition, the judges would have to exercise their best judgment and deliberate in real time. It was a fierce and close competition, and Mr. Singh was an outstanding competitor,” the agency said.
‘That’s kind of a gamble for me’
Competitors for the Patriot Games were told that there would be a points-based system, awarding athletes who finish with the best marks in each round the most. Some of the students who spoke to CNN expressed confusion about how individuals would be scored during the team events, such as dodgeball.
“I don’t know how that’s going to work, that’s kind of a gamble for me,” said 17-year-old Liam Nies from Ohio. “No two teams are equal, so it’s really if you get the better team or you don’t.”
In an interview with CNN, Nies said that he heard about the Patriot Games from “Granny Bibbins,” Instagram influencer Arleta Kay Didier, who promotes traditional values and says in her bio that she’s hoping to “inspire the next generation of Moms.”
Tatum Palmer from Oregon told CNN she also learned of the games from Didier, while Missouri’s Madison Glise said she was encouraged to apply by her mother, a member of the Air Force, after everyone at her military base received an email about them.
Part of Nies’s application was showing off his ability to do a backflip – he does one a day and posts a video on Instagram about it. He spent much of his childhood living in Belgium before moving back to the US for middle school.
He said his perception of America as a kid in Belgium was “big cowboys everywhere and just hillbillies.” Now, “I have a different view on America,” Nies said. “I think I’m just more noticeable of the opportunities that we have here.”
Dozens of video applications posted to YouTube show various reasons why young people wanted to participate. An applicant from South Carolina detailed her experience as a stage 4 cancer survivor and her love for swimming and track. A New York track and volleyball athlete said he wanted to ease college tuition costs for himself and his twin brother. A 14-year-old, wearing a black “Freedom” t-shirt popularized by Kirk, said he wanted to participate to “show everyone why Oklahoma is the real red state.”
For Herrmann, the games could help her go to her dream school: Liberty University, an evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. She wants to get her master’s in business by the time she turns 20. Her goal is to work in government one day – maybe even an elected position like a congressman or a senator.
“If it happens, I would love to be the president,” she said.
