According to pollsters, these voters tend to be anti-establishment and have more unconventional views on health than the majority of people.

Mr Kennedy is a prominent critic of vaccines and has claimed that immunization can cause autism in children.

Last week he said fluoride is “an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.”

A Trump-led White House would advise US water systems to remove the chemical by January 20, 2025 – Inauguration Day, he added.

The practice of adding small doses of fluoride to American water began in 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In 1962, the US Public Health Service recommended adding small amounts to drinking water to strengthen teeth.

According to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 210 million people use fluoridated water systems.

The American Dental Association said this measure has reduced tooth decay by at least 25 percent.

But like mass vaccination, water fluoridation has long been the subject of health concerns and conspiracy theories.

These claims have not always been unfounded.

Lower IQ

A U.S. government report published earlier this year suggested that consuming fluoride at levels twice as high as recommended is linked to lower IQ in children.

In the past, fluoridation has been linked to health problems such as fluorosis – a build-up of the product in the teeth and bones – as well as bone cancer, impaired brain development and Down syndrome.

The U.S. practice of adding fluoride to drinking water is far more extensive than that of many Western allies, such as Britain, where only 10 percent of Britons have the mineral added to their water supply.

Many European countries have also chosen to prevent or phase out artificially increasing fluoride levels in the water supply.

A 2003 survey of 16 European countries found that “the vast majority of people were against water fluoridation.”

Kennedy’s concerns about fluoride in water come amid a growing sentiment in America that its citizens are consuming too many additives — and it’s not the only one of his policies that the Trump campaign appears open to.

In recent years there has been a somewhat anti-establishment backlash against products such as processed foods and drinks, vaccines and highly chemically enhanced toiletries and cleaning products.

Mr. Kennedy has said he wants to ban pesticides, seed oils and food additives.

JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, seemed to echo some of these concerns when he spoke about the virtues of ditching processed foods like vegan meat substitutes during his recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast.