NEED TO KNOW
- Jack Schlossberg announced this week that he is seeking the U.S. House seat that will be vacated by longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler
- His mother, Caroline Kennedy, told The New York Times that she’s “impressed” by the different ways her son utilizes social media, which Schlossberg believes is a weakness among Democrats
- Schlossberg has defended his inflammatory online presence in the past, saying he believes being controversial or unexpected can get people talking
Caroline Kennedy praised her son Jack Schlossberg’s controversial social media behavior in a new, rare interview as he announced his run for Congress.
The famously private Kennedy, a former U.S. ambassador, told The New York Times that Schlossberg, who is seeking the seat that will be vacated by longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, believes social media is a weakness in the Democratic strategy.
“I’m impressed that he’s thought through the different ways of doing that and is willing to take the consequences when he takes a risk that people find offensive,” Kennedy told the outlet.
Schlossberg has defended his inflammatory online presence, telling former White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier this year that it is deliberate and that he believes being controversial or unexpected is a way to break through and get people talking.
Schlossberg, the only grandson of former President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, has nearly a million followers on his Instagram and TikTok accounts.
Recently, he trolled his uncle Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with a “MAHA Man” Halloween costume that poked fun at his lack of “medical knowledge,” and has also made outlandish claims about “having a son” with Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance.
Producer Ryan Murphy has been a frequent target of Schlossberg’s, too, with the nephew of John F. Kennedy Jr. criticizing American Love Story, Murphy’s upcoming series about JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.
Murphy told the Times he “received threats against my personal safety and that of my family” after Schlossberg posted a photo of him on Instagram with the caption “pervert.”
“This is a centuries-old vilification meant to condemn and weaponize hate against gay people, and that’s exactly what he did,” Murphy said.
In response, Schlossberg — who has claimed that Murphy created the show about his late uncle without consulting the Kennedy family — told the Times that his comment calling Murphy a “pervert” was not related to “his personal life.”
“In my mind, that’s a form of perversion, to be so obsessed with somebody’s sexuality and their love life, to produce a multimillion-dollar series about them,” Schlossberg said.
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Schlossberg told the Times he relied on his own judgement and his mother’s as far as his political ambitions, and she described their relationship to the outlet as “incredibly close.”
She said he has helped with her duties at the Kennedy Foundation and spent time with her during her diplomatic tours abroad.
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