First came GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson’s pledge last Monday to overhaul the Affordable Care Act if Donald Trump wins the presidential election. Then Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of Trump’s transition team, on Wednesday endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine skepticism and suggested that a future Trump administration would empower Kennedy to help oversee vaccine data.
Three days later, Kennedy announced that Trump would seek to remove fluoride from Americans’ drinking water as a Day 1 priority.
The statements add up to a surreal final week of campaigning for Republicans in which several of Trump’s top surrogates are introducing unconventional — and generally unpopular — ideas that pit them against the health-policy establishment ahead of Election Day on Tuesday.
The assorted proposals also add up to an agenda that would likely damage public health. Policy experts say that if the Affordable Care Act is overhauled, vaccine confidence declines and fluoride is removed from public water systems, the nation could see a spike in the uninsured rate, a return of vaccine-preventable diseases and more oral health problems, particularly in vulnerable communities.
“The real danger extends beyond politics to public health,” said Kavita Patel, a physician and nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution who has advised the Harris campaign.
“This rhetoric could erode trust in essential health measures, potentially leaving millions vulnerable if these ideas translate into policy.”