‘Obama inspired me,’ says JFK’s grandson
JOHN F KENNEDY’S only grandson has given his first major interview, discussing how Barack Obama inspired him and fielding questions about his own future political ambitions.
Jack Schlossberg, who is about to begin a course at Harvard Law School – Mr Obama’s alma mater – spoke alongside his mother, Caroline Kennedy, the former US ambassador to Japan.
In an interview on America’s Today programme, the 24-year-old said he admired Mr Obama’s commitment to delivering reform on healthcare and climate change.
While he did not mention President Donald Trump by name, an implied criticism was clear.
“That takes political courage,” Mr Schlossberg said of Mr Obama’s reform efforts. “And we’re seeing today it’s pretty easy to criticise without offering solutions, and that President Obama did not do that. He had the courage to govern responsibly.”
He said he was “inspired by Obama’s vision for America and all the promises he laid out for our country” in 2008.
As for his own political ambitions, Mr Schlossberg, who recently graduated from Yale University, said: “[The Kennedy legacy is] something that I’m very proud of, but I’m still trying to make my own way, figuring things out, so stay tuned, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Mrs Kennedy, who stepped down in January, having served in Tokyo for three years, said: “I love my son, Jack, and I would support whatever decision he makes.”
There has been speculation that Mrs Kennedy – JFK’s eldest child – could also enter front-line politics herself.
Reports state that the 59-year-old would like to follow in the footsteps of her late uncle, Robert F Kennedy, and become a New York senator.
“I love her so much, but that’s her decision and I’ll leave it at that,” Mr Schlossberg said.
Speaking about his grandfather, Mr Schlossberg, whose full name is John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg, said his favourite speech came when the former president explained why America should launch a mission to the moon.
“In that speech he said that great challenges are actually great opportunities.
“I think that’s a really important thing to remember today for my generation when it seems like things couldn’t be any worse.
We’re going to inherit a world that has a lot of unsolved problems,” he said.