Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Donald Trump would seek to remove fluoride from water if elected
WASHINGTON – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Saturday that former President Donald Trump would seek to remove fluoride from public water sources as one of his first presidential actions if he is reelected, falsely suggesting that the compound is dangerous.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He claimed without proof that fluoride in U.S. water is linked to a variety of medical conditions, despite studies providing evidence to the contrary.
Local communities have added fluoride to their public drinking water since 1945. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described these public water fluoridation efforts as among the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th Century.
The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have endorsed water fluoridation, citing studies that show fluoride in community water systems can prevents at least 25 percent of tooth decay in children and adults.
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' report earlier this year did find that very high levels of fluoride in other countries could be linked to lower IQ levels in children. But the fluoride levels found to cause such risks were more than twice as high as the amount U.S. officials recommend be added to public water systems.
The U.S. Public Health Service recommends water systems contain a fluoride level of .7 milligrams. The report found that drinking water with more than 1.5 milligrams could be an issue.
Kennedy has a long track record of promoting health disinformation, including debunked theories connecting vaccines with autism. Last year, Kennedy also claimed without evidence that COVID-19 was designed to target “Caucasians and Black people” while sparing Ashkenazi Jewish people and Chinese people.
Those comments immediately sparked backlash, with critics saying they posed a threat to vulnerable groups who had faced racism and other bias during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kennedy ended an independent bid for the White House earlier this year and endorsed Trump. Since then, Trump has suggested at multiple campaign rallies that Kennedy will have a “big role in healthcare” if he is reelected.
Kennedy has separately told supporters that Trump promised him control of the Department of Health and Human Services and its sub-agencies, though the Trump campaign has denied that Kennedy will have such a role.
The Trump campaign, reached for comment about Kennedy's remarks on fluoride, did not directly address the remark.
“While President Trump has received a variety of policy ideas, he is focused on Tuesday’s election,” campaign senior advisor Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
But in a phone call with Trump on Sunday morning, NBC News reporter Dasha Burns said the former president appeared open to Kennedy's plans.
Burns outlined her conversation with Trump in a series of posts on X. The former president reportedly said "Well, I haven't talked to him about it yet, but it sounds okay to me. You know it's possible," when asked about Kennedy's suggestion to remove fluoride from public water.
Contributing: Marina Pitofsky, Savannah Kuchar and Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump will seek to remove fluoride from drinking water, RFK Jr. says