Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Donald Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at a Turning Point Action campaign rally, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.


Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Kennedy made the declaration on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. 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.

It was not clear if Kennedy discussed Saturday’s post with Trump or his aides. The Trump campaign did not answer directly, and a spokesperson for Kennedy did not respond when asked.

“While President Trump has received a variety of policy ideas, he is focused on Tuesday’s election," Danielle Alvarez, Trump campaign senior advisor, said.

But the sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.


Robert F. Kennedy Jr., walks on the tarmac as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.


Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. 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 that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.


In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that 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 action 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 attorneys in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might hold 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 for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump's top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.


Kennedy traveled with Trump 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 kids, he wants everything," Trump added.

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[Blewberry Nausea]

Fluoride? What about investigating chemtrails and the moon hoax? Give me the real shit not fucking fluoride.

 

[HyperboreanRightsActivist]

the same way you can put chlorine, a DEADLY GAS, on your french fries if it's combined with sodium, a HIGHLY REACTIVE metal.

The amount of salt in American fast food might as well make it a chemical weapon, to be fair...

 

[Blewberry Nausea]

Making America Healthy Again™ will also only work if the frogs stop turning gay.

You‘d have to get stricter laws against businesses polluting rivers and lakes to do that, and Trump isn’t the kind for making laws that ‘strangle the free market’. So expect those frogs to turn Queer Eye gay just not be reported about as much.

 

[gmax alcremie]

Guess what major city doesn't add fluoride to water? Portland, Oregon. So if it bothers you, just move there.

 

[Ed Special]

Ban corn syrup and he gets my vote.

Corn syrup's actually very useful in a number of recipes that even predate The Great War, the big problem's just that our food industry uses it as a cheap filler for goyslop.

 

[ZeCommissar]

I feel like the most obvious and simple solution to see if fluoride in water has any negative effects is just to do a long term intensive study in countries that don't use fluoride in their water vs countries that do.

Also the whole "muh teeth" thing just sounds retarded to me even if fluoride in the water is completely harmless. Nigga just brush and floss your teeth. No amount of drinking tap water is going to save you from tooth decay if you have the diet of the average American and don't brush your teeth. They may rot slower, but they'll still rot. Explain to me why daddy gubmint has to help save our teeth when it should just be down to the person and their dentist? If they really gave a fuck about the teeth they would just add it to health insurance at no to little cost and have people stop paying for both dental and health insurance.

 

[Overly Serious]

As a taxpayer, my money shouldn't go to subsidizing other people's fluoride consumption. Anybody who wants it can simply keep a jug of water in the fridge and drop a fluoride tablet in it (at the desired dosage) and drink from that.

This leads to the following outcome:

• Greater freedom of choice.
• Paid for directly by the person who wants it rather than subsidised by taxes.
• Control groups to observe if there really is a statistical effect of fluoride supplementation.

It's a win, win, win.

 

[Mechanical Pencil]

Personally, I never could find a peer reviewed paper on the benefits of drinking the stuff, only studies on short term direct application to teeth. Oh, and I found some stuff on tooth damage caused by over use of fluoride as well. Maybe don't go searching for that, the images were unpleasant enough I can recall them to this day.

Perhaps the papers showing how good it is when ingested were all just hidden away where I couldn't find them (lol paywalling is just the best).

If someone has a link to a decently ran study, I would love to see it and this would be an appropriate place to share...

 

[Diana Moon Glampers]

I feel like the most obvious and simple solution to see if fluoride in water has any negative effects is just to do a long term intensive study in countries that don't use fluoride in their water vs countries that do.

Also the whole "muh teeth" thing just sounds retarded to me even if fluoride in the water is completely harmless. Nigga just brush and floss your teeth. No amount of drinking tap water is going to save you from tooth decay if you have the diet of the average American and don't brush your teeth. They may rot slower, but they'll still rot. Explain to me why daddy gubmint has to help save our teeth when it should just be down to the person and their dentist? If they really gave a fuck about the teeth they would just add it to health insurance at no to little cost and have people stop paying for both dental and health insurance.

They've done many, many studies about this. Fluoride exposure has a dose-dependent correlation with lowered IQ.

 

[Divine right to rule]

Stopped reading here

I remember his speech where he ended his campaign, didn't he have his own experts for the different health issues he wanted to tackle?

 

[Jimjamflimflam]

Fucking good. I don't care if Flouride makes my dick grow 5 inches. I just want basic water, whatever natural healthy minerals it picked up along the way is fine.

 

[Marvin]

Fucking good. I don't care if Flouride makes my dick grow 5 inches. I just want basic water, whatever natural healthy minerals it picked up along the way is fine.

Natural and healthy is the core of the debate.

 

[Jimjamflimflam]

Natural and healthy is the core of the debate.

Does it have to be added by someone at a facility?

Then I don't want it.

Edit: I'm not sure how its handled at my local, but I'm fortunate enough to be at the "top" of the water cycle system. I can taste a major difference between my local water and when I travel to other places.

 

[Marvin]

Does it have to be added by someone at a facility?

Then I don't want it.

Some needs to be removed by someone at a facility otherwise you're getting permanent brain damage. There's an optimal amount of Flouride. Some places add, others subtract.

Flouride supplementation is really only useful as a measure that a politician is completely retarded. It's the "let's troon out kids" of the right.

 

[HOMO FOR LIFE RETURNS]

Ban corn syrup and he gets my vote. The fluoride…not so much.

Corn syrup may be the worst food choice in the history of america....maybe ever.

 

[Particle Bored]

the same way you can put chlorine, a DEADLY GAS, on your french fries if it's combined with sodium, a HIGHLY REACTIVE metal.

Except when you combine that DEADLY GAS and that HIGHLY REACTIVE METAL they don't put that cute pirate flag on the bag.

 

[Otterly]

Ban corn syrup and he gets my vote. The fluoride…not so much.

Honestly, fluoride in water, I know it brings the crazy in a lot of people but if it was up to me, I wouldn’t add it in. We have pretty much every toothpaste in the market with fluoride in, and adding it to water means dosages can add up. It IS a neurotoxin and it does seem to cause issues with development. Muh poor kids with caries isn’t down to malnutrition any more it’s neglect, and those kids will remain rotten toothed sugar fed urchins with or without it.
What may seem like a good idea with fortification can have unintended consequences- for example fortifying flour with folate. Depending on which version of the MHFTR gene you have, this could be anything from quite good to very bad for you.
At the end of the day it’s an unnecessary chemical addition to an unavoidable product, and that alone makes me say no to it.

 

[Pretend To Imagine]

Putting it in the water is extremely silly, when you consider you cannot control the dosage people are getting. Honestly, it was probably just a way for a corporation to get free money from the government.

 

[merrybrandybuck]

I've always been confused about how swallowing flouride is suddenly fine if it's in drinking water.

It's not and every developed country the left furiously faps to has removed it from its water supply decades ago.

 

[MadStan]

Honestly, fluoride in water, I know it brings the crazy in a lot of people but if it was up to me, I wouldn’t add it in. We have pretty much every toothpaste in the market with fluoride in, and adding it to water means dosages can add up. It IS a neurotoxin and it does seem to cause issues with development. Muh poor kids with caries isn’t down to malnutrition any more it’s neglect, and those kids will remain rotten toothed sugar fed urchins with or without it.
What may seem like a good idea with fortification can have unintended consequences- for example fortifying flour with folate. Depending on which version of the MHFTR gene you have, this could be anything from quite good to very bad for you.
At the end of the day it’s an unnecessary chemical addition to an unavoidable product, and that alone makes me say no to it.

Every time someone says no it I go “OK, show me a solid study by anyone - that the average American is getting too much” and all that is ever come up with are studies showing what happens IF you get too much. If Americans are getting too much it should be pretty easy to show in a study and I haven’t seen one yet.

If there is one, I’ll gladly look. But im not looking again at the same old studies that show we COULD be getting too much, I want to see one that shows we are.

I naturally use water filters that remove almost all of it from the water plus all else bad. I could believe poorer areas where they do not filter their water could result in them getting too much; but I’ve yet to see a study showing that.