Donald Trump has said that Robert F Kennedy Jr’s plans to ban fluoride from drinking water “sounds OK to me” as he also refused to rule out banning some vaccines if he secures a second term in the White House.
The Republican presidential candidate recently announced that he would give RFK Jr free rein to do “anything he wants” and “go wild” over health, food and medicines during his potential second administration.
One such plan floated by RFK Jr is to remove fluoride, a mineral used to prevent tooth decay, from the nation’s drinking water supply – and Trump appears to be on board.
“Well, I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but it sounds OK to me,” the former president told NBC News’s Dasha Burns during a phone call on Sunday.
“You know, it’s possible.”
Burns also asked Trump whether vocal anti-vaxxer RFK Jr would ban any vaccinations, despite World Health Organization estimations that global immunization efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years.
Trump refused to give a straight answer on the matter, saying: “Well, I’m going to talk to him and talk to other people, and I’ll make a decision, but he’s a very talented guy and has strong views.”
RFK Jr is a vocal anti-vaxxer and proponent of numerous debunked health-related conspiracy theories – including claiming a link between some vaccines and autism.
On Saturday, the former independent candidate turned Trump supporter, posted on X of his plans to remove fluoride from water supplies.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” he posted.
“Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.”
It’s a policy plan that RFK Jr pushed back when he was running as an independent presidential candidate, before culling his campaign to endorse Trump in August.
In February, the third party candidate said that, as president, he would “order the CDC to take every step necessary to remove neurotoxic fluoride from American drinking water.”
Both the Center of Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association note that low-levels of fluoride is a safe way to prevent tooth decay. The CDC previously said that water fluoridation was one of the 10 greatest public health achievements in the 20th century.
Last Monday, RFK Jr alleged that Trump “promised” him control over public health agencies – including the CDC and Food and Drug Administration, adding that he would make his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda a priority.
But, Trump appeared reluctant to confirm that his vaccine-skeptic ally would receive an official role in his cabinet when asked on Sunday.
“Well I’m not going to talk about that but he’s going to have a big role in the administration,” the former president told Burns.
