Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump attend a campaign rally sponsored by the conservative group Turning Point USA in Duluth, Georgia, United States, on October 23, 2024.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump said Sunday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s proposal to remove fluoride from the U.S. water system “sounds fine” to him, a position that contradicts the advice of health officials.
“Well, I haven't talked to him about it yet, but it sounds fine to me. They know it's possible,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News' Dasha Burns when asked about Kennedy's proposal.
Kennedy wrote on X on Saturday: “On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.”
Trump also said that Kennedy would play a large role in shaping public health policy in any Trump administration.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fluoride occurs naturally in almost all water sources and some is added to public water to prevent tooth decay.
“The safety and benefits of fluoride are well documented and have been extensively reviewed by multiple scientific and public health organizations,” says a post on the CDC website.
The American Dental Association says 70 years of research supports the safety and effectiveness of adding fluoride to water, a process known as community water fluoridation.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the fluoride remark.
Kennedy is also a known vaccine skeptic who has helped spread false conspiracy theories about public health. When asked by NBC News whether a “ban on certain vaccines would be considered” if Trump were president and Kennedy was in his administration, Trump left the door open.
“Well, I'll talk to him and other people and make a decision, but he's a very talented guy and has strong views,” Trump said.
The science on fluoride and water fluoridation is clear. But Trump's doubts, and the questions they could raise among voters about what public health might look like in a Trump White House, underscore a serious challenge for the Trump campaign in its final days: staying on message.
Last weekend, insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash,” something the Trump campaign distanced itself from.
Those comments dominated the news cycle for several days until President Joe Biden appeared to call Trump supporters “trash” before later saying that wasn't what he meant.
Republicans argue that voters are not paying attention to every controversial statement from Trump and his allies this week and are instead focusing on the larger issues in the race.
“Voters in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina are all talking about crime and unemployment,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“They’re talking about the border. You're talking about 70,000 Americans losing their lives to fentanyl. They don’t talk about fluoride.”
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