{"id":34236,"date":"2024-11-03T02:33:03","date_gmt":"2024-11-03T08:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=34236"},"modified":"2024-11-03T02:33:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T08:33:06","slug":"rfk-jr-says-a-trump-white-house-would-immediately-push-to-remove-fluoride-from-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=34236","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr. says a Trump White House would immediately push to remove fluoride from water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Saturday that a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump administration<\/a>&nbsp;would, on its first day, &#8220;advise all U.S\u200b. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Kennedy cited linked fluoride to various illnesses, despite major medical associations supporting water fluoridation, which they say is safe and<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>a benefit to public health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;President \u200b@realDonaldTrump and First Lady @MELANIATRUMP want to Make America Healthy Again,&#8221; the former Democratic presidential hopeful wrote in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RobertKennedyJr\/status\/1852812012478398923\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">post to X<\/a>, tagging Michael Connett, an attorney who has led litigation that opposed the fluoridation of public drinking water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who has<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-election\/robert-f-kennedy-jr-wont-take-sides-911-conspiracy-theories-rcna160255\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&nbsp;a history<\/a>&nbsp;of pushing conspiracy theories, is primed to play a key role in a future Trump administration&#8217;s health policy. Since dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Trump, Kennedy has frequently appeared on the campaign trail stumping for the former president, and Trump said at a rally this week that if he is elected, Kennedy is \u201cgoing to work on health and women\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Trump has embraced Kennedy. In an event in Arizona&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-election\/trump-team-fully-embraces-rfk-vaccine-skepticism-rcna178389\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">earlier this week<\/a>, the former president said that Kennedy &#8220;can do anything he wants&#8221; in a potential Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHe really wants to with the pesticides and the, you know, all the different things. I said, &#8216;He can do it. He can do anything he wants.&#8217; He wants to look at the vaccines. He wants \u2014everything. I think it\u2019s great. I think it\u2019s great,&#8221; Trump had said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In late October,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/video\/-trump-says-he-would-let-anti-vaccine-advocate-rfk-jr-go-wild-on-health-222810181633\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump said<\/a>&nbsp;that having Kennedy as an ally &#8220;is such a great honor,&#8221; adding that he would let Kennedy &#8220;go wild on health.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;I&#8217;m going to let him go wild on health. I&#8217;m going to let him go wild on the food. I&#8217;m going to let him go wild on medicines,&#8221; Trump had said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Kennedy, a former independent presidential candidate, has touted&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/donald-trump\/rfk-jr-lead-trump-efforts-chronic-childhood-disease-rcna178293\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">widely debunked<\/a>&nbsp;theories linking vaccines and autism. He also&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-election\/rfk-jr-says-sign-federal-ban-abortions-three-months-pregnancy-rcna99689\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously said<\/a>&nbsp;that he would support a national ban on abortion after three months of pregnancy, before quickly walking back his comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">When reached for comment on Kennedy&#8217;s proposal, Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez did not commit to backing the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;While President Trump has received a variety of policy ideas, he is focused on Tuesday\u2019s election,&#8221; Alvarez said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Major public health groups such as the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ada.org\/resources\/community-initiatives\/fluoride-in-water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&nbsp;American Dental Association<\/a>, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aap.org\/en\/patient-care\/oral-health\/fluoridation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/fluoridation\/about\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>&nbsp;support water fluoridation, citing studies showing that the mineral helps fight cavities. Health groups also emphasize that the practice is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;Water fluoridation is an equitable and inexpensive way to ensure that prevention of dental disease reaches everyone in a community,&#8221; the American Academy of Pediatrics&#8217; website says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The academy&#8217;s Campaign for Dental Health also says on its website that &#8220;there is no scientifically valid evidence to show that fluoride causes cancer, kidney disease, or other disorders.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Fluoride helps make teeth \u201cstronger and more resistant to decay,\u201d according to the CDC\u2019s website, and drinking fluoridated water \u201creduces cavities by about 25% in children and adults.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;Documented risks of community water fluoridation are limited to dental fluorosis, a change in dental enamel that is cosmetic in its most common form. Changes range from barely visible lacy white markings in milder cases to pitting of the teeth in the rare, severe form,&#8221; the CDC&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/fluoridation\/about\/statement-on-the-evidence-supporting-the-safety-and-effectiveness-of-community-water-fluoridation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website says<\/a>, noting that most dental fluorosis seen in the U.S. today is &#8220;of the mildest form.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Similarly, the American Dental Association says on its website that water fluoridation is &#8220;safe and effective.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;Throughout more than 70 years of research and practical experience, the overwhelming weight of credible scientific evidence has consistently indicated that fluoridation of community water supplies is safe,&#8221; says a fact sheet on the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ebooks.ada.org\/fluoridationfacts\/3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">association&#8217;s website.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Water fluoridation is not ubiquitous, and the CDC&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/fluoridation\/faq\/index.html#:~:text=Why%20is%20fluoride%20added%20to,too%20low%20to%20prevent%20cavities.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">does not mandate<\/a>&nbsp;fluoridation programs. Some cities have worked to end public water fluoridation programs as groups argue that it should be&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/health\/health-news\/fluoride-safe-drinking-water-cities-ban-rcna143605\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">up to them<\/a>&nbsp;to decide whether they want fluoride in public water supplies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-election\/rfk-jr-trump-white-house-remove-fluoride-water-rcna178543\">nbcnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Saturday that a&nbsp;Trump administration&nbsp;would, on its first day, &#8220;advise all U.S\u200b. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.&#8221; Kennedy cited linked fluoride to various illnesses, despite major medical associations supporting water fluoridation, which they say is safe and&nbsp;a benefit to public health. &#8220;President \u200b@realDonaldTrump and First Lady [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":34237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1154],"tags":[4023,1684],"class_list":["post-34236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-removal","tag-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34238,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34236\/revisions\/34238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}