RFK Jr. says Trump will recommend removing fluoride from public water if elected
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Saturday that Donald Trump’s administration will order fluoride to be removed from water supplies if the former president wins Tuesday’s presidential election.
Kennedy, who Trump has suggested would oversee a health portfolio in a potential future administration, wrote in a social media post that Trump’s administration would “advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” which he claimed was tied to numerous medical conditions. The former independent presidential candidate called the element an “industrial waste.”
When asked about Kennedy’s comments, Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez told CNN, “While President Trump has received a variety of policy ideas, he is focused on Tuesday’s election.”
Some background: State and local governments control most of the water supplies in municipalities across the country. The CDC recommends community water fluoridation as a cost-effective way to improve residents’ oral health.
Exposure to fluoride above the public health recommended amount over many years can result in skeletal fluorosis, a condition that causes weaker bones and joint pain. A federal review published in August by the National Institutes of Health’s toxicology program concluded that higher levels of fluoride is linked to lowered IQ in children. The program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
While fluoride can be a byproduct of some industry, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is also found naturally in the environment in water and rocks.
Kennedy has a long history of sharing baseless conspiracy theories about the impacts of man-made chemicals in the environment.
Read more about the public health portfolio both Trump and Kennedy have teased here.
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