Democrats need to stop being ‘boring’ (with Jack Schlossberg)

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
Presented by AHIP. Health plans work every day to shield Americans from high and rising costs by negotiating lower prices from providers and drug makers, and protecting consumers against unexpected medical bills. Learn more at ahip.org.

**Jack Schlossberg** (0:15)
I'm getting a little sick and tired of this. Everyone acts like I'm controversial, just because I was out there early doing this, and now everyone does the kind of stuff that I do, including the President of the United States, who is the most controversial online figure in history.

**Dasha Burns** (0:30)
Hello, hello, and welcome to The Conversation. I'm Dasha Burns, and every week on this show, I talk to the most compelling and sometimes unexpected power players in Washington and beyond. And this week, I sat down for a lively conversation with Jack Schlossberg, Democratic candidate for New York's 12th congressional district. As the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, he comes from a family with a historic tradition of public service.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:03)
Ask what you can do for your country.

**Dasha Burns** (1:06)
But the meaning behind being a Kennedy has shifted more in recent years, with his cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, leading the Trump administration's Health and Human Services.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:15)
President Trump is committed to restoring the American dream, and 77 million Americans delivered a mandate to him to do just that, to impart to the embrace and elevation of the Make America Healthy Again movement.

**Dasha Burns** (1:29)
With this type of legacy around his name, Schlossberg has had to define who he is as a candidate. And one of the ways he's doing that is by being very online.

**Jack Schlossberg** (1:39)
Introducing NoPAC Jack. Who doesn't take money from super PACs, corporate PACs, or Big Tech and AI, and has two thumbs? This guy.

**Dasha Burns** (1:48)
As New York voters gear up for the primary on June 23rd, their ballots will answer, has the Kennedy name helped or harmed the Schlossberg campaign? Does Schlossberg's social media presence make him stand out? Or are voters not in on the joke? And ultimately, even if the Schlossberg campaign can capture our attention, do voters take him seriously enough to elect him? Jack Schlossberg joins The Conversation.
Jack Schlossberg, thank you so much for joining The Conversation.

**Jack Schlossberg** (2:19)
I'm so happy to be here with you, Dasha. Thank you.

**Dasha Burns** (2:22)
I see all of this New York, Jack for New York posters behind you, New York, New York. I miss it. I lived there for 10 years before coming to DC, but I did not live in your district, New York 12 It's a district that is older, wealthier.
It's often viewed as kind of emblematic of establishment democratic politics. You, on the other hand, are a younger, less traditional candidate. How do you sort of bridge that gap in this campaign?

**Jack Schlossberg** (2:50)
I was born and raised in this district, New York 12, which goes from 96th Street to 14th Street of Manhattan. In other words, it's the center of the whole universe and the world, and the most important place on earth.
The Bill of Rights was signed in Manhattan, and New York is turning 400 years old this year.

**Dasha Burns** (3:06)
And the next one. So it's a big time for New York.

**Jack Schlossberg** (3:10)
And the World Cup is coming here.
I am deeply from here, and I really care about this place. It's my community, and I've lived here my whole life. But there's 100% an establishment here that is resistant to change. So I'm really proud to represent the outsider in this race. I put my money where my mouth is. When I say that, a lot of people probably take a second look at me saying I'm an outsider, given my family, but...

**Dasha Burns** (3:35)
There's some smirking involved. Yeah.

**Jack Schlossberg** (3:37)
They might not realize, though, that I don't have a super PAC, and I'm up against almost $30 million in super PAC money. Our average contribution is 30 bucks. We're like an actual grassroots movement. One that I started building with an online following in 2023, 2024, and that has really grown into a really strong, powerful campaign here in New York 12 that represents policy changes as well as integrity and trust up against two people, my main opponents, who were financed by Republican billionaires. And as you said, it's an older district, more affluent district, but it is probably the most one of, if not the most, solidly blue progressive seats in the whole country.
And it really represents a seat in Congress that is known for leadership on progressive values. And that's why we're going to win, because we're the progressive in this race and we're the proud leader of a grassroots movement that represents what all Democrats in the country right now want.