Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at an event in Los Angeles on March 30.

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at an event in Los Angeles on March 30.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

This article originally appeared as part of NPR's live coverage of the 2024 election. For more election coverage from NPR Network, visit our live updates page.

In an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep this morning, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that the Trump administration, of which he will likely be a part, will recommend removing fluoride from the nation's drinking water.

Kennedy, who endorsed Donald Trump in August, is part of the president-elect's transition team and has asked for a health care role in Trump's administration. In October, Trump said he would give Kennedy a role in his administration, but it had not yet been defined.

“We don’t need fluoride in our water,” Robert F. Kennedy continued Morning edition. “It’s a very bad way to get it into our systems.”

Fluoride, a mineral that helps strengthen teeth and reduces tooth decay, has been added to drinking water in some areas of the United States since 1945, but the decision to add fluoride is made at the local level. The federal government cannot decide on the fluoridation of water, but can make recommendations for or against its use and in what concentration. About 70% of the US population has access to fluoridated tap water.

Kennedy also said one of his immediate priorities will be to review research on vaccines. Kennedy has long been critical of vaccines and vaccination mandates, once saying it was “criminal medical malpractice” to give a child a COVID-19 vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the COVID-19 vaccine is safe for children. Kennedy has also repeatedly claimed that vaccines cause autism, despite ample evidence that vaccines are not to blame.

“Of course we’re not going to take the vaccine away from anyone,” Kennedy said. “We will ensure Americans have good information about vaccines and their safety.

Kennedy, who is related to a long line of famous Democrats, said the party was run by millionaires and no longer represented the wishes of working people but of an elite class.

“The Republican Party is now the party of unions, the party of working people, of the American poor,” Kennedy said. “And these are the people who voted for Donald Trump and these are the people to whom he will keep his promises.”