By Reportedly urging restraint, Caroline Kennedy has implored her son, Jack Schlossberg, to abandon his bid for Congress, citing mounting fears over his safety amid an increasingly turbulent political environment.
Schlossberg, 32, grandson of John F. Kennedy and an outspoken progressive with roughly 1.6 million social-media followers, announced Tuesday that he will seek the Manhattan seat long held by retiring Rep. Jerrold Nadler, 78. Nadler’s departure after more than three decades opens one of the most reliably Democratic races in the country — “a rare vacancy in one of the safest Democratic seats,” according to the New Conservative Post.
Family insiders told The New York Post that Kennedy’s concern is out of an abundance of caution for his safety. “Caroline has pleaded with Jack not to run, but he seems determined to follow in the political footsteps of his grandfather … and generations of other Kennedys who have held political office,” one source told The Post. Another added: “Jack’s decision to throw his hat in the ring has seriously frightened Caroline, who believes the political world has become too dangerous, too frightening, too crazy, and so she doesn’t want her only son … running for elective office in the current toxic environment.”
NYT publishes this 1960s-looking video of Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg ahead of his congressional campaign launch.
To make him seem like he's another JFK. Unreal and unserious https://t.co/bZQQde8AN5 pic.twitter.com/8fRJEixaIh
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) November 12, 2025
Kennedy, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Australia, is said to be “living in fear” that her son’s high-profile campaign could make him “a target for violent haters.” Sources told The Post she views the modern political arena as perilous, particularly for public figures tied to storied legacies like the Kennedys.
Meanwhile, Schlossberg’s campaign materials strike an unabashedly bold tone: “I’m running for Congress because the best part of the greatest city on earth needs to be heard loud and clear in Washington and deserves a representative who won’t back down,” reads his website. “Each generation of Americans is tested. The 2026 midterms is our moment.”
The possibility of a Clinton enterting the race could complicate matters for the Kennedy heir. On one hand, Chelsea Clinton’s entry would immediately command donor networks and establishment loyalty; on the other, the very dynastic aura that gives her strength provokes resistance among progressives eager to topple the old guard. Detractors, though, have seized upon lingering controversies surrounding the Clinton Foundation and past associations — citing, for example, images of the now-convicted Ghislaine Maxwell at Chelsea Clinton’s 2010 wedding and ties to the foundation’s influence-peddling investigations.
For the Kennedy camp, the prospect of a dynastic showdown adds layers of strategic and personal risk. Schlossberg’s public persona has drawn scrutiny for his online provocations — sardonic commentary about his appearance and jabs at relatives like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and his candidacy would sharply revive the Kennedy brand in a new political theatre. Family sources also highlight Caroline Kennedy’s additional worry about rising antisemitism in the United States, given that Schlossberg’s father, Edwin Schlossberg, is Jewish.
Despite the tension, Schlossberg has already received some establishment support: In August, Chuck Schumer appointed him to a committee organising America’s 250th-anniversary celebrations. “Why am I putting Jack there? We know that Donald Trump will try to aggrandize the whole thing and make it part of him and his ego,” Schumer said in a video with Schlossberg. “There’s no better person to push back on that than you, Jack.”
As the race gains momentum, Schlossberg’s candidacy — backed implicitly by the Kennedy legacy — injects a potent mix of symbolism and risk into one of New York’s most reliable Democratic jurisdictions.
[Read More: Dems At Each Other’s Throats]
