Jack Schlossberg, the sole grandson of President John F. Kennedy, is following in his family’s political footsteps by launching a campaign for Congress in Manhattan’s 12th district. The 33-year-old is stepping into the political arena with the weight of both his family’s storied history and his own contentious online presence.
Despite his illustrious lineage, Schlossberg faces challenges as he enters the race, including a somewhat controversial digital persona and a career path that hasn’t quite dazzled. His campaign platform is still developing, with many specifics yet to be unveiled.
Schlossberg is no stranger to making waves on social media, often targeting high-profile figures, including his own relative, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He has openly criticized RFK Jr.’s views on science and vaccines, a stance he reiterated in an interview with The Post this week.
“I wish he hadn’t been doing what he’s doing,” Schlossberg said, referring to his cousin. “Nobody wants to be the one who’s fighting with your family in public.”
He revealed that his mother, U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, was hesitant to publicly oppose their cousin. Nevertheless, she addressed Senators with a letter last year, labeling Kennedy Jr. a “predator” with “dangerous views” just before his confirmation hearings for a cabinet position.
“My mother didn’t want to put the letter up,” Schlossberg disclosed, noting that he was the one who shared the letter on social media.
“She wishes that it wasn’t happening but it wasn’t her choice. We were pushed into the pool and we didn’t want anyone to be confused about what we believe and what President’s Kennedy’s support would be and how dangerous it was to our future.”
The Trump administration is another of Schlosbergâs frequent targets, which he also credits as a source of his popularity, having amassed 874,000 followers on Instagram.
“Social media is an amazing way to build trust and people who come up to me, who know my Instagram, often thank me. At first I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
“Especially at the beginning of the Trump administration ⦠There weren’t that many people challenging, and so they associate me with somebody who’s willing to say things.”
Some of his more bizarre online posts have included donning a wig to mock First Lady Melania Trump and making a post where he claimed he and Second Lady Usha Vance were âhaving a baby,â and âmight get married,â with a picture of her holding a child with his face photoshopped onto it.
Trolling RFK Jr., Schlossberg previously wrote a recipe for a Make America Healthy Again
âenergy ballâ cocktail, which he claimed should include: â2 oz of Jew blood (ashkenazi not Sephardic). 4 cups of male jâz. Baked at 300 degrees until totally dry like your wife,â referring to actress Cheryl Hines.
Since announcing his campaign, Schlossberg has adopted a more corporate demeanor and was dressed in a black overcoat and crisp white shirt when he met The Post.
He proudly states heâs his own campaign manager and that heâs been doing almost everything in the âJack for New Yorkâ campaign himself. This is not exactly true. Annabel Lassally, a former special assistant to New York Governor Kathy Hochul left the leadership of the campaign in December, after two months on the job. Lassally did not return a request for comment.
Schlossberg has a law degree and MBA from Harvard, but his opponents have criticized an apparent lack of real-world work experience, accusing him of trading on his family history.
“Jack has no clue why he’s running, so it stands to reason no one else does either,” said a Democratic strategist for one of his opponents. “His campaign’s most substantial document is his birth certificate.”
Schlossberg dismisses the criticisms, saying: “I have work experience and I really enjoy the criticism that I’ve never had a job, especially when it’s coming from other opponents who have hired fancy consulting firms to do their social media.”
He added he has worked for the State Department in the past at the Bureau of Oceans and Environment.
On his rather short resume, he also listed himself in his 2025 congressional disclosure as correspondent for Vogue magazine. However, a representative told The Post Schlossberg “was Vogue’s election correspondent through the 2024 election, so he did not work with us in 2025.”
He also claimed he worked for, then quit, ex-President Joe Bidenâs re-election social media team in 2023.
“I said, ‘I have an instinct about how Democrats need to communicate.’ They said ‘no’ to every idea I had. I quit, and started making my own videos.”
A senior Biden campaign official told The Post Schlossberg never worked in any official capacity for them, although he interviewed at several different departments, including social media.
And, to his detractorsâ point, as hands-on as Schlossberg may be with his campaign, heâs decidedly hands-off when it comes to earning cash.
In his financial disclosures, revealed this week, Schlossberg listed no earned income in 2025. He does, however, have four family trusts, which suggest he is worth between just under $11 million and nearly $32 million.
Schlossberg claims his man-of-the-people image is bolstered by his donations, adding: âWe are creating a new way of doing things ⦠You see it in the numbers. Our fundraising average donation is under 40 bucks. I think we’re up to 45,000 individual contributions.”
While that may be the case, the duality of being a grassroots fundraiser and the scion of a political dynasty is on full display in Schlossbergâs backers.
Many of the big money individual donations come from wealthy family friends and celebrities. Musician Paul Simon donated $7,000, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels gave $3,500, cookbook author Ina Garten gave $2,000 and fashion designer Lisa Perry gave $3,500 to Jack for New York, among many other bold face names.
Donors can contribute a maximum of $3,500 to the primary race, which takes place in June, and another $3,500 for the general election in November, according to FEC rules.
Thousands more came from his parents and extended family, including aunt Vicki Kennedy who pledged $7,000, cousin Kerry Kennedy who gave $500, and older sister Tatiana, 35, who contributed $5,000 before her death from a rare form of leukemia in December.
“She [Tatiana] was really excited about the campaign,” said Schlossberg, adding that his whole family is rooting for him. “I think it’s been a lot of fun for my family to have something to cheer for, and become invested in when experiencing loss.”
Contributions to Schlossbergâs campaign currently total nearly $2 million, according to a campaign volunteer, although those numbers are not yet reflected on the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) web site â which lists his campaign’s totals at $1.1 million.
Schlossberg also has the endorsement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He told The Post she only agreed to back him after an hourlong “interview” in which she asked him all about why he wanted to run.
However, other sources in the Democratic party claimed they thought San Francisco-based Pelosiâs real reason for backing Schlossberg was to get back at 17-term Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, who announced his retirement last year. He has handpicked Micah Lasher to be his successor in the sprawling 12th district, which Schlossberg is also competing for.
The district encompasses Midtown, Gramercy Park, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, the Upper East Side and Upper West Side as well as Roosevelt Island, and the democratic primary faces a crowded field, with 13 candidates.
Schlossberg certainly has an advantage over his opponents when it comes to online visibility, with the next most popular candidate, Lasher, having just 7,200 followers on Instagram.
During The Postâs visit Schlossberg towered over many New York City Housing Authority residents he was visiting in Chelsea, many of whom vied for his attention.
In order to help residents, Schlossberg unveiled his “Fix-It Now” initiative, with volunteers urging tenants to add their names to a form with a description of what they needed repairing in their units.
âHis last name isnât Kennedy and he doesnât have the experience,â said Hank Sheinkopf, a political strategist. âHis appeal might be glamor and the politics of the past, but in the harsh world of  New York City politics, thatâs not going to work.â
