As Americans face the very real threat of another Donald Trump presidency, Democrats are scrambling to engage young voters, who seem to be growing ever more disillusioned with establishment politics by the day.
From certain angles, things are looking dire. Yet Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg may have just found a way through to voters…with memes.
John F. Kennedy’s 31-year-old grandson has recently made a name for himself through his charming—if slightly bizarre—social-media presence. At first, he captured the hearts of memers and Zoomers everywhere with his irreverent posting, uploading videos of himself cracking open a coconut with his bare hands, attending a Shawn Mendes concert with Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski, and performing a suggestive dance while singing “Ticket to Ride.” (It should be noted that Schlossberg has really always been weird on Instagram.) But lately, the Harvard Law alum has used his platform to campaign for Joe Biden, while also firing shots at Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—Schlossberg’s cousin—who is running for president as an Independent. (RFK Jr., a noted anti-vaxxer, has promoted conspiracy theories throughout his campaign, leading several members of his family to publicly discourage people from voting for him.)
Schlossberg has posted political diatribes as various characters, among them Jimmy, a Bostonian who calls RFK Jr. a “friggin’ prick”; Tiny Tim, a cockney Brit who questions why Republicans’ crusade for bodily autonomy includes vaccines, but stop shy of abortion; and even Vladimir Putin, whom Schlossberg paints as an avowed RFK Jr. fan.
It’s a clever tactic, pinning his (many) opinions on his cousin’s politics to made-up men—but Schlossberg has used his own voice too. In July 2023, he posted a video disavowing RFK Jr.’s political aspirations. “I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is that his candidacy is an embarrassment,” Schlossberg said. He later went on The Today Show with his mother, Caroline Kennedy, where he stood by his remarks.
Schlossberg has long been tangentially involved with his family’s political dynasty, introducing then President Barack Obama at the 2013 Medal of Freedom Award Dinner, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of John F. Kenndy’s death, and at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. But with his recent memeing, he has managed to evade the bland niceness that a career in politics and diplomacy generally demands.
