The once-glorious Camelot, a symbol of the Kennedy dynasty’s allure, seems to be in ruins, with the last blow dealt by none other than Jack Schlossberg. This unraveling is even more apparent as the New York Times, historically a staunch supporter and defender of the Kennedy family, has now turned its critical gaze towards one of its prominent heirs.
The recent headline from the Times reads: ‘Inside Jack Schlossberg’s Chaotic Campaign to Revive Camelot: Erratic behavior and staff turnover have colored Mr. Schlossberg’s bid for a House seat in New York, raising questions about his readiness for office.’ This represents a significant shift, as the paper appears to be acknowledging the stark realities surrounding Schlossberg’s political aspirations.
At 33, Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, finds himself under scrutiny. Despite his privileged upbringing, with a trust fund reportedly worth $32 million, his career remains largely undefined. His presence has been marked by erratic behavior on social media, which includes aggressive and misogynistic remarks aimed at his critics—myself included.
In previous times, the New York Times might have shielded this young Kennedy, offering him a glowing portrayal befitting his lineage. However, the tide has changed, and the Kennedy mystique that once captivated the nation seems to be fading, with even the most ardent supporters now questioning its relevance and legacy.
Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of President John F Kennedy, has never had a real job, lives off a trust fund worth a reported $32 million, and has attracted attention for unhinged social media posts and vulgar, misogynistic attacks against any of his critics — I proudly count myself among those targeted.
Nonetheless, he would have, not long ago, been cosseted by the Times. They would have given this nepo-brat a tongue-bath for the ages.
His joblessness and inherited wealth would have been framed as normal for a member of the noblesse oblige.
His ‘erratic’ behavior? That would have been explained away as mere eccentricity.
And his run for a powerful seat, one far beyond his political experience, would surely have been framed by the Times as fulfilling his familial tradition — nay, obligation — of public service.
‘To whom much is given,’ and all that.
Those days are over. Finally.
Camelot has crumbled, Brand Kennedy destroyed, the final ruination caused by none other than Jack Schlossberg.
You know the tectonic plates have shifted when the New York Times, once an institutional cheerleader-slash-apologist for the Kennedy family and their gravest sins, has turned against a favored son.
We open with a banger, Schlossberg working a few hours on Day 1 of his announced candidacy, his staff having arranged a slew of media hits, calls with donors and Democratic Party elites — only for the candidate, running on youth, verve and energy, to announce he needed a nap.
‘He then effectively disappeared for the day,’ writes the NYT’s Nicholas Fandos, ‘leaving his team reeling.’
This well-sourced piece depicts a manchild of a faded realm who expects to coast to victory through knee-jerk endorsements (Nancy Pelosi), advice from party kingmakers (Ron Klain, former chief of staff to President Biden), soft-focus profiles (The Cut, CBS Sunday Morning) and the hard work of a staff he barely speaks to or sees, because he’d rather be swimming or paddleboarding in the filthy Hudson River.
The Times reports that many sources, from the party elite to Schlossberg’s boots-on-the-ground, ‘described an operation so erratic and plagued by turnover that it raises questions about how he might handle himself as a member of Congress.’
Truly, this is a watershed moment. Consider that in April 1991, the New York Times outed a woman who accused William Kennedy Smith of rape, printing her name and mentioning, as if to shame her, that she was a single mother. He was later acquitted.
The Times also described a catastrophic 1973 Jeep crash caused by Joe Kennedy — one that left 18-year-old Pamela Kelley paralyzed for life — Joe’s ‘mishap’.
In reporting his court-ordered sentence, a $100 fine, the Times said that ‘[Joe’s brother] David and two girl passengers were injured’ — note the order of importance, the Kennedy named first — and did not mention Pamela Kelley by name until the last paragraph.
Ted Kennedy, an accused serial sexual assaulter who in 1969 left Mary Jo Kopechne, a devoted campaign aide, to die in mere feet of water, was eulogized in the Times as ‘a public servant, a sailor, a statesman, a raconteur and a generous friend and family man.’
Family man! As if everyone in American media didn’t know about Ted’s alcoholism, drug use, relentless cheating, the alleged sexual assault of a waitress in DC (as reported in GQ magazine) and his horrific treatment of his long-suffering wife, Joan.
I could go on.
In fact, I have. My book, Ask Not: The Kennedys and The Women They Destroyed, was written to correct this fairy tale the American media was hellbent on enshrining as historical fact.
In many columns here at the Daily Mail, I’ve also recently refuted the glossy treatment given JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette in Ryan Murphy’s blockbuster miniseries Love Story.
A miniseries, by the way, that Schlossberg publicly condemned as a crass money grab while using revived interest in JFK Jr to send his campaign aloft — including cosplaying as his dead uncle in a suit, on a bicycle, one pant leg scrunched up insouciantly.
Can’t have it both ways.
Schlossberg also reportedly plagiarized Democratic congressman Seth Moulton’s response to the US invasion of Venezuela — which he all but admitted after Moulton’s office made a call.
My book, Ask Not: The Kennedys and The Women They Destroyed, was written to correct this fairy tale the American media was hellbent on enshrining as historical fact.
The Times now makes no excuses for churn-and-burn on Schlossberg’s six-month-old run: Two campaign managers, two field directors and various other staffers fleeing in droves.
Jorge Muniz Reyes, who just quit as a canvassing coordinator, said that Schlossberg’s entire enterprise was a mess, saying that it’s akin to ‘a dollar-store flower bouquet. The colors might be nice to look at for a few days. But since the flowers lack roots, they can’t last very long.’
Not even the Kennedy go-to defense — that litany of tragedy and premature death — works anymore. Schlossberg’s current campaign manager implied that he should be given grace as his sister, Tatiana, recently died of cancer.
Times readers, once amongst our diehard Kennedy worshippers, no longer countenance that excuse. A quick sample among the hundreds of reader responses:
‘Sorry for his loss,’ wrote a commenter named Rick, ‘but if Mr Schlossberg can’t find the time to campaign or take policy briefs amidst a family tragedy maybe it’s not the time for him to seek office. No one is forcing him to run.’
Another: ‘We need serious adults to lead us… This young man is not the answer. He’s got to grow up.’
A third: ‘We’ve seen this show before when JFK Jr was being touted as the Next Great Kennedy… He ended up flying a small plane straight into the ocean, killing his wife and sister-in-law as well as himself.’
Finally, referencing Schlossberg’s campaign: ‘Poorly managed! The same thing happened to John-John and his “career” of nothing, before the plane crash.’
Not that long ago, John-John was the stuff of Greek mythology. That he is no longer – and that we demand the truth about this dangerous, power-mad ‘dynasty’ — is a win for us all.
