Washington, March 29 Democrat leader Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former US President John F Kennedy, said his party has “consistently failed” to win over young voters, who have been influenced by Donald Trump.
Schlossberg, the Democratic Congressional candidate from Manhattan’s 12th District, credited US President Trump for “getting people excited about politics” and embracing modernity in the way the Democrats used to in their heyday.
Speaking at Fortune’s CEO Initiative dinner earlier this month, Schlossberg said he doesn’t believe the Democratic party lost its way on policy so much as it lost its sense of storytelling and cultural relevance.
“The Republican Party has embraced modernity in a way that the Democratic Party used to. Whether it’s space exploration, whether it’s the AI race, crypto, or investing in new technologies — the Democratic Party has been anti-everything, and particularly anti-business. They have been anti-modernity. Trump has changed the game,” the 33-year-old Congressional aspirant told Fortune.
Schlossberg’s mother, Caroline Kennedy, was ambassador to Japan in President Barack Obama’s administration and ambassador to Australia in President Joe Biden’s administration. Caroline is President Kennedy’s daughter.
Schlossberg, who holds degrees from Yale Law and Harvard Business School, is also popular as a progressive content creator. He was part of Joe Biden’s aborted 2024 Presidential re-election campaign, creating social media videos.
“People aren’t looking for a superhero… They just want someone who can speak their language, meet them where they are, and give them something of value,” he said.
The Kennedy heir said Trump had attracted young people from the Democratic party.
"I think those young men are not stupid, and I give President Trump a lot of credit for being able to influence new meeting environments and make politics accessible," he told Fortune.
Schlossberg said he disagreed with Trump on many issues and was proud to be a Democrat. However, he said he agreed with the Democratic party of yesteryear, not the present one.
He said that Democrats used to embrace maternity, science, and new media channels — a party that was pro-affordable healthcare, pro-immigration, and pro-education.
“I don’t think that’s because we suddenly lost our way on policy. I think we’ve mainly been out of touch with young people and failing to tell them a story about what we stand for, rather than being a reactionary party,” he said.
Schlossberg said he doesn’t think Trump is wrong about everything, “that’s too simplistic a view”.
But Trump is failing to give Americans confidence in the government, he said.
“He’s not giving us confidence in our ability to solve the problems of the future, and I think we really have too many problems that we need to address right now,” Schlossberg said.