{"id":578895,"date":"2025-11-18T19:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/578895\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T19:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:35:13","slug":"schlossbergs-kennedy-name-shouldnt-earn-him-any-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/578895\/","title":{"rendered":"Schlossberg’s Kennedy name shouldn’t earn him any votes"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Jack Schlossberg becomes the Democratic nominee for New York’s 12th Congressional District \u2013 and I doubt he will \u2013 he won’t have earned it.<\/p>\n

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JFK’s grandson is running for Congress. Who is Jack Schlossberg?<\/p>\n

JFK’s grandson is running for Congress. Who is the Democratic social media star Jack Schlossberg?<\/p>\n

I rolled my eyes when I got the Nov. 11 news alert that Jack Schlossberg<\/a>, the 32-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy, had announced his campaign to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler<\/a>, D-New York.<\/p>\n

There was a time in 2024 when I was almost fond of Schlossberg. I thought it was kind of fun when Vogue made him a political correspondent<\/a> during the presidential election (even if it spurred discourse in the media industry). Before things took a turn<\/a>, he was funny on social media, like when he posted a TikTok<\/a> of him riding a RipStik and reciting Lord Byron. I also appreciated his serious side; his remarks at the Democratic National Convention<\/a> were all about the next generation of politics.<\/p>\n

But a political career is not forged in silly videos, and I\u2019m not sure Schlossberg has what it takes to run one of the most influential congressional districts in the country. In fact, I\u2019m not sure he has much going for him beyond his family ties.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, that dynastic power may take him further than any of us would like to admit.<\/p>\n

There is already a long history of nepo babies and pseudo-celebrities trying to influence American politics. Schlossberg is just another influencer trying to leverage fame for power.<\/p>\n

Opinion: <\/strong>Democrats botched their own shutdown. Low-income Americans will pay the price.<\/a><\/p>\n

Schlossberg is a Kennedy, and not a whole lot else in politics<\/p>\n

Schlossberg\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9<\/a> is scattered and sparse. He\u2019s got a law degree and and briefly worked at the State Department<\/a> as a staff assistant, but he\u2019s never held office or done anything of note beyond being a prolific oversharer on social media and writing a handful of articles.<\/p>\n

Some of his online takes are good \u2013 he\u2019s a consistent critic of his cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> and President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s administration \u2013 but he often takes it too far<\/a>. In one particularly cringey moment, he made a series of comments about second lady Usha Vance\u2019s looks<\/a>, then went on to say he was having a baby with her.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the only time he\u2019s lied for views<\/a>, but he sees all of this as a means to an end.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf somebody thinks I\u2019m crazy because they saw one of my videos, that means that they saw one of the videos, which means that they got some information about the Trump administration and politics that they might not otherwise have gotten,\u201d Schlossberg told The New York Times<\/a> recently when asked about his provocative social media posts.<\/p>\n

Respectfully, I must disagree with Schlossberg here. I understand, probably better than most, that we exist in an attention economy, but sometimes trolling is just trolling. It doesn\u2019t actually get the message across if the controversial thing you say at the top of the post is getting more attention than the message itself.<\/p>\n

Nepo babies aren’t the Democratic dark horses we need<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m not stoked about Schlossberg\u2019s social media strategy, I\u2019m even less enthused by the prospect of another Kennedy leveraging his name to get a leg up on the competition.<\/p>\n

New York politics is already rife with \u201cnepo babies<\/a>,\u201d those whose family members have also held office. Yvette Clarke<\/a> and Grace Meng<\/a>, two U.S. representatives from New York City, both have parents who were politicians.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s former governor and failed mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo<\/a>, whose father also served as New York governor in the 20th century.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t just a New York thing \u2013 from Kentucky<\/a> to Utah<\/a> and hailing from both major political parties<\/a>, our country is run by people who benefited from a parent or uncle\u2019s success along the way. I mean, just look at the Bushes, the Roosevelts or the Adams<\/a> family. \u00a0It\u2019s a problem as old as the country itself<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Opinion: <\/strong>Chuck Schumer is taking heat for Democrats’ shutdown debacle. He deserves it.<\/a><\/p>\n

I fail to see why someone\u2019s name should matter more than their qualifications. That\u2019s not to say all children of politicians should stay out of politics, but they must show their constituents that they are prepared to do the work. They should start their political careers from the ground up. We scoff at nepo babies on television and in music, so why don\u2019t we hold the same standards when it comes to politics?<\/p>\n

The other problem is that nepo babies, when they decide to follow the family legacy, tend to suck all the air out of the room. For example, The Times wrote two stories on Schlossberg when he announced his candidacy; everyone else just got one. When the children and grandchildren of important political figures talk, people tend to listen.<\/p>\n

A qualified candidate might also be worth considering<\/p>\n

Schlossberg could be using his family connections and social media savvy to become a Democratic strategist. He clearly understands what gets people to pay attention, for better or worse, and I think he could be useful within the party hierarchy with some training.<\/p>\n

Instead, he is choosing to throw his hat into a very crowded ring to replace Nadler, a representative who announced his retirement<\/a> with the intent of breathing new life into the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Opinion alerts:<\/b> Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don’t have the app? Download it for free from your app store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are multiple candidates running in the 12th Congressional District with decent r\u00e9sum\u00e9s who would be right for the gig. There\u2019s Micah Lasher<\/a>, 43, Nadler\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9e who has spent the past year in the state assembly. Then there\u2019s Alex Bores<\/a>, 34, on his second term in the assembly after leaving his job as a software engineer. Most recently, LGBTQ+ activist and City Councilman Erik Bottcher<\/a>, 46, announced he was running.<\/p>\n

None has the family legacy and social media fame that Schlossberg possesses.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Kennedy name isn\u2019t what it used to be. In 2020, then-Rep. Joe Kennedy III ran for Sen. Ed Markey\u2019s seat in Massachusetts and lost. Then RFK Jr.<\/a> ran for president on a third-party line \u2013 only to drop out, endorse Trump and end up with a Cabinet position that he is deeply unqualified for.<\/p>\n

I think Schlossberg could be very useful to the Democratic Party somewhere behind the scenes, but a deep blue district should be cultivating public servants who have experience and ideas that push it into the next century \u2013 not just someone willing to be the face of the party. If Schlossberg becomes the Democratic nominee \u2013 and I doubt he will \u2013 he won\u2019t have earned it.<\/p>\n

Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Peque\u00f1o on X, formerly Twitter:\u00a0@sara__pequeno<\/a><\/p>\n