PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.., a prominent supporter of public health claims debunked that Donald Trump promised to entrust to the head health initiativessaid Saturday that Trump would push to eliminate fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replace minerals lost through normal wear and tearaccording to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adding low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the statement Saturday on social media platform X alongside various claims about the health effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will notify the entire United States. 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 uses often and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he hasn’t yet talked to Kennedy about fluoride, “but it seems OK to me.” You know it’s possible.

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a cabinet role for Kennedy, a position that would require Senate confirmation, but added: “He’s going to play an important role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be considered, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about it. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented and opinionated guy.”

The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post spoke to the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s tenure in the White House, when he posted policy statements on Twitter virtually at all hours. It also underscored many experts’ concerns about Kennedy, who debunked theories have long been promoted on vaccine safety, having an influence on American public health.

In 1950, federal authorities approved water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay and continued to promote it even after brands of fluoride toothpaste came onto the market several years later. Although fluoride can come from several sources, drinking water is the primary source for Americans, researchers say.

Civil servants lowered their recommendation for fluoride levels in drinking water in 2015 to treat a dental disease called fluorosis, which can cause tooth staining and is becoming increasingly common among American children.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels approximately twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited this study in order the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it was unclear whether the amount of fluoride typically added to water causes lower IQ in children, but he concluded that growing research indicates a unreasonable risk. It ordered the EPA to take steps to reduce that risk, but did not specify what those steps should be.

In his X post on 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 filed a lawsuit against news organizations including the Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking steps to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and vaccines against COVID-19. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

It remains unclear what role Kennedy might play if Trump wins on Tuesday. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump had 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 Health. ‘Agriculture.

But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions support from Kennedy, scion of a Democratic dynasty and son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump on Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday 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 children, he wants everything,” Trump added.

Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press