Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared Saturday that the White House will urge US water systems to ditch fluoride if Donald Trump wins the presidency Tuesday.
Trump, 78, later indicated that he didn’t discuss that possibility with Kennedy, but told NBC that it “sounds OK to me.” Kennedy, 70, is widely expected to gain heavy influence over US public health policy if Trump wins.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote on X. “@realDonaldTrump and First Lady @MELANIATRUMP want to Make America Healthy Again.”
Fluoride is found naturally in most drinking water within the US, though in some cases, municipalities will increase the level of fluoride in water. Scientists generally believe that in small amounts, it is safe and can reduce tooth decay. But there is a debate about that.
“The safety and benefits of fluoride are well documented and have been reviewed comprehensively by several scientific and public health organizations,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Moreover, the CDC has dubbed fluoridation of drinking water “one of 10 great public health interventions of the 20th century” due to the decline in cavities.
Still, scientists have warned about ingestion of excess fluoride. The Environmental Protection Agency suggests that drinking water should not have more than two milligrams per liter of fluoride. Water systems are required to alert customers if fluoride presence exceeds that level.
When it’s over four milligrams per liter or higher, the CDC suggests using a “filter that removes fluoride from water.” Long-term, that level of fluoride can lead to skeletal fluorosis, causing risks of weaker bones in the elderly, joint stiffness and more.
The Kennedy scion went on to spout controversial claims that fluoride is “an industrial waste” linked to “bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.”
The National Toxicology Program Monograph found in October 2023 that “there is moderate confidence in the scientific evidence that showed an association between higher levels of fluoride and lower IQ in children,” per a study with the National Institute of Health.
More than 200 million Americans are believed to drink fluoridated water.
Kennedy, a trained environmental lawyer, has clashed with public health officials on a range of topics, such as vaccines. The nephew of JFK been skeptical of certain vaccines and safety vetting during the approval processes for them.
These stances have drawn backlash from the medical community, driven in part by concerns that scaring people off from vaccines could hamper herd immunity.
The former Independent candidate for president has rattled his critics by teasing a potential health-related role in a future Trump administration.
“[What] Trump has promised me is — is control of the public health agencies, which are HHS and its sub-agencies, CDC, FDA, NIH and a few others, and then also the USDA,” Kennedy said in a video obtained by CNN.
Trump-Vance campaign transition co-chair Howard Lutnick later doused cold water on the prospect of Kennedy landing a Cabinet role such as helming the Department of Health and Human Services
“No, of course not,” Lutnick told CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” last Wednesday. “He’s not going to be the secretary, no.”
To become HHS secretary, Kennedy would need to get confirmed by the Senate, where he would likely face bipartisan resistance. Lutnick didn’t name a specific role but indicated it would be related to public health policy.
Kennedy has also stressed that he wanted to get access to more data that the public health agencies have on a range of topics like vaccines.
“Well I’m going to talk to [Kennedy] and talk to other people, and I’ll make a decision, but he’s a very talented guy and has strong views,” Trump told NBC when asked about whether his administration would ban certain vaccines.
Trump was also coy about what role Kennedy may enjoy in his administration: “He can do anything he wants.” The 45th president has been clear he doesn’t want Kennedy to deal with energy policy, due to his concerns about the environmental lawyer cracking down on oil.
The Republican presidential hopeful previously considered tapping Kennedy to chair a vaccine safety commission in 2017, but that never came to fruition.
