RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of rejected public health claims which Donald Trump has promised to put at the head of health initiativessaid Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens the teeth and reduces cavities replace minerals lost during normal wear and tearaccording to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adding low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the statement Saturday on the social media platform X, along with a series of claims about fluoride’s heat-inducing effects.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to make America healthy again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but that sounds OK to me. You know, it’s possible.”

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about it. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong opinions.”

The sudden and unexpected social media post over the weekend sparked the chaotic policy-making that has defined Trump’s tenure in the White House, where he would issue policy statements on Twitter virtually every hour. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long-advanced debunked theories on vaccine safety, to have an impact on American public health.

In 1950, federal officials approved water fluoridation to prevent cavities and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Although fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the most important source for Americans, researchers say.

Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a dental condition called fluorosis, which can cause staining of teeth and was becoming more common in American children.

In August, a federal agency specific “with moderate confidence” that there is an association between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited this study in order US Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it is not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water causes lower IQ in children, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be . He ordered the EPA to take steps to reduce that risk, but did not say what those measures would be.

In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in this lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations, including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking steps to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its lawyers in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might have if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

But so far, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s best surrogates. Trump often cites the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump on Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy, “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.

“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants children, he wants everything,” Trump added.