Former President Trump said he would “make a decision” regarding banning certain vaccines if he wins the White House on Tuesday and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is a part of his administration.
In an interview with NBC’s Dasha Burns on Sunday, Trump didn’t rule out the possibility of banning a vaccine, though he also provided no specifics in discussing Kennedy’s potential role on health policy matters in his administration.
Kennedy, a prominent skeptic of vaccines, has suggested in the past that some vaccines could be taken off the market.
“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,” Trump said when asked whether banning certain vaccines could be a possibility under his administration.
Kennedy is the founder of an anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense and has argued the 13 separate agencies under HHS, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, are in desperate need of reform.
Kennedy endorsed Trump in August after running as an independent candidate.
In a Saturday post on the social platform X, Kennedy wrote that if Trump wins the election, the first day in office his administration would “advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.”
He suggested that fluoride is an industrial waste and that it can cause various health problems, even though major public health interests back fluorinated water as preventing cavities and tooth decay.
“Drinking fluoridated water keeps teeth strong and reduces cavities,” the CDC said in a statement to NBC News.
“Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” Kennedy wrote in his post on X.
Trump told Burns that the two haven’t discussed the issue of fluoride in public water yet.
“Well, I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but it sounds OK to me. You know, it’s possible,” Trump said of Kennedy’s plan.