He programs our minds. He's living in all of our heads right now.
A grandson of Camelot, running for Congress in a city that once celebrated his family's grace, has paused to study the enemy's weapon with something close to admiration. Jack Schlossberg's acknowledgment that Donald Trump 'programs our minds' through social media is less a compliment than a diagnosis — and his prescription for Democrats is not retreat, but reinvention. In an age where the information space has become the primary theater of political power, Schlossberg is asking his party a quiet but urgent question: if you refuse to compete where the battle is actually being fought, can you claim to be fighting at all?
- Trump has mastered the art of occupying mental real estate — saying something and watching it colonize every conversation within hours — and a Kennedy grandson is the one saying it out loud.
- Schlossberg's own TikTok presence has drawn fire for crossing lines, including posts about JD Vance's wife, creating tension between his call for authenticity and questions about where humor becomes harm.
- He argues Democrats face a binary choice: match Trump's social media intensity with their own authentic voice, or quietly surrender the only arena where modern political power is actually forged.
- His campaign in New York's 12th District is becoming a live test of whether an authenticity-first, humor-driven digital strategy can translate into actual votes in a crowded congressional primary.
Jack Schlossberg, 33-year-old grandson of President Kennedy, sat down with CBS New York to say something that surprised people — not because it was praise for Donald Trump, but because it was honest. Trump, he said, has a genius for programming what the country talks about every single day. He called it terrible. He also called it the most powerful political tool in existence.
Schlossberg is running for Congress in New York's 12th District, seeking to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. He's built a notably aggressive social media presence, especially on TikTok — videos that are sometimes bizarre, sometimes criticized as going too far. When pressed on those lines, he turned the question around: the real propaganda, he argued, is coming from the White House. Democrats who pull their punches online are surrendering the only weapon they have.
His deeper argument is about his party's structural problem. Traditional Democratic messaging — built on accomplishments and institutional credibility — no longer competes in an information space Trump has learned to dominate. Schlossberg's answer isn't to copy Trump, but to be genuinely, fully oneself: use humor, take risks, let people see the unpolished version. 'It's about being authentic to who you are and letting people into your world,' he said.
Whether a TikTok-heavy, authenticity-first strategy can win a congressional seat remains an open question. But Schlossberg's willingness to name Trump's advantage — and to demand that Democrats adapt rather than look away — reflects a party still searching for its footing in an era where social media isn't just a campaign tool. It is the campaign.
Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy, sat down with CBS New York on a Sunday morning with something on his mind about Donald Trump. He wasn't there to praise the former president. But he was there to acknowledge something he found undeniable: Trump's mastery of social media as a tool for shaping what the country thinks about, talks about, and ultimately believes.
"I don't admire President Trump for anything," Schlossberg said, "but I deeply, deeply respect and recognize his genius in the way that he programs all of what we talk about every day." The phrase hung there—programs our minds. Trump, in Schlossberg's view, had cracked a code. He says something, and within hours it becomes the subject of every conversation, every news cycle, every dinner table argument. Trump lives in people's heads, Schlossberg observed, and while he called it terrible, he also called it powerful. More than that, he called it the only real way to wield power anymore.
Schlossberg is running for Congress in New York's 12th District, hoping to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. He's one of several Democratic candidates in the race, but he's distinguished himself through an aggressive social media presence, particularly on TikTok. His videos are often bizarre, sometimes outrageous. Some have been called creepy. He's posted things about Vice President JD Vance's wife, Usha, that drew criticism. When asked about crossing lines, Schlossberg pushed back, arguing that what's truly over the line is the propaganda coming from the White House itself. If Democrats hold back their humor, he suggested, they're surrendering the only weapon they have.
This is where Schlossberg's comments become less about Trump and more about his own party's predicament. He's essentially saying that Democrats have a choice: compete on social media using the same intensity and creativity that Trump deploys, or lose. But there's a specific way to do it, in his view. Not by mimicking Trump's approach, but by being authentically themselves. Use humor. Use intellect. Take risks. Let people see who you actually are, not some polished version manufactured for television.
"The way that I do that is not going to be the same as the way another candidate does that," Schlossberg said. "It's about being authentic to who you are and letting people into your world." He contrasts this with his opponents in the race, who he says want voters to look away. He wants them to look at everything—because he's proud of what he's doing, he's thinking about it, and he's working around the clock.
The broader implication of Schlossberg's remarks is that the Democratic Party faces a structural problem. Trump has figured out how to dominate the information space in a way that traditional Democratic messaging—the kind that celebrated accomplishments and relied on institutional credibility—no longer matches. Whether Schlossberg's TikTok-heavy, authenticity-first approach will actually work in a congressional race remains to be seen. But his willingness to name Trump's advantage, and to argue that Democrats must adapt rather than resist, suggests a party grappling with how to compete in an era where social media isn't just a tool—it's the primary arena where political power is exercised.
Citações Notáveis
He says things, and we end up repeating them all day long. He's living in all of our heads right now. And it's terrible, but it is powerful.— Jack Schlossberg, on Trump's social media influence
It's about being authentic to who you are and letting people into your world... I want you to look at everything that I'm doing because I'm proud of it.— Jack Schlossberg, on his approach to social media campaigning
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
When you say Trump "programs our minds," what exactly do you mean by that?
He sets the agenda. He says something outrageous or provocative, and suddenly that's what everyone's talking about—the media, social media, water cooler conversations. He controls what we're all thinking about, even when we're thinking critically about him. He's still winning the attention game.
But you're running for Congress partly through social media yourself. Doesn't that make you complicit in the same dynamic?
Maybe. But I think the difference is intention and authenticity. I'm not trying to manipulate people into repeating my talking points. I'm trying to show them who I actually am, let them into my world. If that's on TikTok instead of a town hall, that's just where people are.
Your posts about Usha Vance drew criticism for being over the line. How do you square that with the authenticity argument?
I think people confuse humor and teasing with cruelty. We're allowed to make fun of powerful people. That's not propaganda—that's just politics. The real propaganda is what comes from the White House every day.
So Democrats should just... do what you're doing?
Not exactly. Every candidate has to find their own voice. But yes, Democrats need to stop being afraid of social media. We need to compete there with the same energy and creativity Trump brings. We just do it as ourselves, not as imitations of him.
And if that doesn't work? If authenticity on TikTok doesn't actually move votes?
Then we've lost. But I think the alternative—pretending social media doesn't matter, or trying to ignore it—guarantees we lose. At least this way we're fighting on the battlefield that actually exists.