With Donald Trump inching closer to victory in his bid to return to the White House, the name of his former competitor and now ally Robert F Kennedy Jr is trending online.
Kennedy had earlier said in a tweet that if Trump won, the White House will ask all the water systems across the country to remove fluoride from public water which had been added to the water supply since the 1940s. The goal behind the addition was to use fluoride to make teeth strong and reduce cavities.
Now that trends show Donald Trump likely winning the US elections, Kennedy’s proposal to remove fluoride from water has gone viral again. Also, as a staunch Trump supporter, Kennedy is expected to play a big role in the Trump administration.
Google trends
Since Tuesday, Robert Kennedy was searched over 2,00,000 times, showed Google Trends and its all related to the debate on water supply in the US. The terms “robert kennedy” and “rfk jr” started trending close to midnight on poll day.
Robert Kennedy Jr and fluoride in water
“Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump want to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy had said.
(Also read: RFK Jr wants to remove fluoride from public water, Trump responds)
Addressing his claims on fluoride, Trump had earlier said that his proposal to remove the chemical from the water seemed “Okay” to him.
Since the 1940s, US had boasted the addition of fluoride to its water supply as one of the greatest public health achievements in the country’s history.
However in 2011, the US Health and Human Services Department reduced the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water.
Despite Kennedy’s claims going viral, no major studies have found linked fluoride drinking water to bone fractures, cancer, or osteoporosis, especially in the small amounts added to water.
