RFK Jr. Very Unloved, Still On His (Science Says!) Fluoride Bullsh*t

Not a great week for him!

Apr 15, 2026

You know, it just doesn’t seem like this week is going very well for anyone in the Trump administration, and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is no exception. And not just because of how it came out that he spends a weird amount of time “unfavorably” comparing Cheryl Hines to his previous wife, Mary. You know, the one he allegedly drove to suicide by constantly screwing other women? Also that he “seems to have drifted away from Hines and no longer desires to spend much time with [Hines].”

Bet she’s glad she blew up her entire career and lost all of her friends for this prize, huh! But that’s not all that’s going on with him.

For years, Kennedy, like every other kook on earth, has been on one about the supposed dangers of fluoridated water. In the last year or so, since he’s become HHS secretary, both Utah and Florida have eliminated fluoride from their drinking water, which I guess means the Mormons won’t be shaming the rest of us with their perfect chiclet teeth for very much longer. Other states like Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma have legislation pending.

Curiously, this mainly seems to be an issue for people at the legislative level, as a poll from July of last year showed that Americans are overwhelmingly good with fluoridated water (81 percent) and only six percent actually wanted to see it removed from all drinking water. Similarly, 4.75 out of 5 dentists support fluoridated water, which you will note is far higher than the percentage of dentists who believe you should be chewing Trident gum.

So, as it turns out, the people and the dentists are right and the politicians are wrong. A new, long-awaited study on the effects of community water fluoridation published Monday in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that there were no intelligence or brain function differences between people who grew up drinking fluoridated water and those who did not, up to age 80 (they only studied people 80 and under). Though the latter group likely does have a few more cavities.

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This study is of particular importance, as previous studies that have made some connection between fluoride and lower cognitive abilities really only looked at people in countries like China with very high levels of fluoride that are nowhere near what US Americans consume through our drinking water or even at the dentist. This is not particularly helpful as, you know, “the dose makes the poison.”

The study was led by Rob Warren, a sociologist and population health expert at the University of Minnesota, using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, a long term study of 10,317 people who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. The subjects took IQ tests at the age of 16 and then took them again at ages 53, 64, 72, and 80. Taking into account factors like moving to different areas with different fluoride rules and when or if water fluoridation began where they lived, the study found that there were just no cognitive differences or changes in people related to their level of exposure to fluoride.

The study was incredibly comprehensive compared to previous efforts (though there was no way to determine the specific amount of fluoride each person consumed in their lifetimes), though Warren did say that his study should not be considered “the final word” on the subject, and hopes to see it studied further. Probably because he’s a smart guy and knows that, while some things are a lot more likely than others, it’s not always possible to have a 100 percent definitive answer on something like this.

But, you know, it’s pretty unlikely that water fluoridation only failed to make people in Wisconsin stupid, so I think we’re probably quite safe.

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In other bad news for RFK Jr. — a recent poll from 314 Action and Data for Progress has found that his MAHA movement is not very popular and may be a pretty big liability for Republicans in the midterms. It also found that, the more people learn about him and his background, the less they like him.

More specifically, the polling determined that:

While 39 percent of voters say they support many of MAHA’s goals, only 14 percent consider themselves a part of the movement.
Among Democrats, independent and third-party voters, even less identified with MAHA, while in swing districts, only 13 percent identified with the agenda championed by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Only among Republicans did support for the MAHA agenda go up, with 29 percent saying they identify with it.
Voters indicated they would support candidates who champion policies like requiring routine vaccinations, increasing funding for diseases like cancer and dementia, limiting pesticide use in agriculture, banning food dyes and boosting funds for mRNA research.
Among independent and swing voters, half said they do not believe the MAHA movement is delivering on its promises.
More than half of all likely voters said they trusted organizations and agencies like the HHS; World Health Organization; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and “vaccines in general.”
Pollsters noted that favorability towards Kennedy fell among participants after the survey, during which they learned more about his history.

This is good news, because it means that people are being normal. They don’t want a ton of pesticides or food dyes that are banned in Europe in their food, but they also want vaccines and more funding for cancer research and MRNA vaccine research. That is a very happy and sensible medium — although, when you think about it, it shouldn’t really be a “medium.” People do care about their health, just not in a crazy way that makes no sense and actually makes them less healthy and more likely to die of measles.

Hooray!

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