Jack Schlossberg, grandson of JFK, mocks RFK Jr. campaign on Instagram

In reality, @jackuno is a different character entirely: Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy, who has taken to social media to skewer his relative’s third-party presidential bid — and, he hopes, sway some voters in the process.

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“A vote for Bobby Kennedy Jr. is a vote for Donald Trump, and I think that’s a dangerous path for our country to take,” Schlossberg told the Globe on Wednesday in a phone interview from Hawaii. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, Schlossberg said he is currently working on creative projects including acting auditions and a book. “All I’m trying to do is draw attention to what I think people should be focused on.”

Like many other prominent members of his family, Schlossberg, 31, is a Democrat planning to vote for Biden this fall. And also like many members of his family, Schlossberg has publicly rejected his cousin’s campaign, which has traded heavily on the family name. But as some relatives avoid direct attacks — “I love Bobby,” Kerry Kennedy said last month as she exhorted voters not to support her brother — Schlossberg has taken a sharp tone. His brief videos on Instagram criticize Kennedy as unintelligent, dishonest, and a Russia-aligned hack.

Schlossberg said the videos began somewhat spontaneously, on a day when he’d hurt his foot and found himself feeling bored. More than anything, he said, he is hoping to use humor to promote Biden, who he said has gotten more done in one term than any president since JFK. A poster of Biden has been on his bedroom wall since 2007, Schlossberg said — around the time his mother, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, helped advise then-Senator Barack Obama to select Biden as his running mate.

“I can’t sing, I can’t dance, but I can do some accents,” Schlossberg said. “I was using the tools at my disposal to talk about something I really care about. That people find it funny or that it breaks through I think is awesome, but there is no master plan.”

Schlossberg said the videos were done “completely on my own” and not coordinated with the Democratic National Committee or Biden’s team, though he is in touch with some people on the campaign.

There hasn’t been much reaction from his family, he said, though, “I think I made my dad laugh.” He told the Globe he has childhood memories of RFK Jr. but hasn’t seen him in a decade.

Schlossberg has spoken out against his cousin, and on behalf of Biden, before. In a social media video last summer, he called RFK Jr.’s candidacy “an embarrassment.” And he appeared in a 2020 video for the Democratic National Convention with his mother, telling viewers, “We need Joe Biden.”

Schlossberg’s videos are another indication of the rancor within the Kennedy dynasty as RFK Jr.’s campaign polls in the low double digits, making him the third-party candidate with the most support this cycle. Both Democrats and Republicans fear he could pull votes from their candidates, potentially tipping the election. The campaign is charging ahead with efforts to land on the ballot in all 50 states amid family criticism and some unflattering headlines. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that RFK Jr. said in a deposition years ago that doctors found a dead worm in his brain.

The RFK Jr. campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Schlossberg’s videos. The candidate has said in the past he loves his big family even when they disagree on politics.

Schlossberg’s tactic has also drawn some pushback — particularly his portrayal of the character “Joshua,” an older Jewish man who notes with pleasure that Caroline Kennedy married a Jewish man, and then, in a critique of RFK Jr.’s campaign promises, demands, “Who is going to protect my money?”

Schlossberg said in an interview that the videos were not intended to mock any people or cultures. He said he was merely trying to show that “whoever you are, Joe Biden is the person that you should vote for.”

Asked about his own political aspirations, Schlossberg said: “I have no plans to share about running for office in the future. I don’t know what the future would hold.”

And what about the future for Jimmy, Vlad, and the rest?

“They’re all very talkative, and they really want more airtime, but I’m gonna have to talk to their agents and their managers before getting them back out there,” he joked. “I mean, that’s just show business.”

Emma Platoff can be reached at emma.platoff@globe.com. Follow her @emmaplatoff.

Originally Appeared Here

Author: Rayne Chancer