Um, how exactly do you plan to use your authority to protect immigrant New Yorkers?

Thank you.

I also just wanna thank Courier and, uh, Documented for the independent journalism that you're doing.

The, uh, oligo- [clapping] Sorry, I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to pander, but it, it's really true.

A, a couple people, oligarchs, are controlling our news, uh, outlets, and it's harder than ever to get these stories out there, so I really appreciate it.

[clapping] Um, but now I gotta talk really, really quick.

So, uh, abolish ICE, we all agree.

Jack.

What do you say to them and to people who have that question about your experience?

I think if you think the Democratic Party doesn't need to change anything, that we're doing just fine, and that the playbook that has been used for the last 25 years has been working, then I'm definitely not your candidate.

But if you think we need to do things differently and bring people in from the outside who can get people excited about politics, who believes in public service, and who's running a campaign that's not funded by a Republican billionaire, can you believe that in one of the most blue districts in the entire country, a progressive stronghold, this is one of the most important seats in the entire Congress, funded by, or my two major opponents, are funded by Republican billionaires.

This is gonna be the second most expensive House primary ever, and that is because of a bunch of AI money coming in on the one side for Alex Borres.

He's funded by Anthropic.

On the other hand, our campaign is different.

Our average contribution is 30 bucks.

How has that impacted you and where you are right now

I mean, how did you do it? Because it's all about when am I going to get this? When am I going to get my free that? This is something that I think plagues anyone running for

office.

Totally.

You know, people forget JFK was the ultimate outsider when he started and when he ran for president.

And people might laugh hearing this coming from me because I'm, you know, his grandson.

But I'm the outsider in this race, too.

And the institutions here in New York 12 and New York City, they...

Since when did those two things become so easily conflated?

This is a cancer that needs to be cut out of the Democratic Party.

I couldn't agree more.

And I'm very worried, you know, about the upcoming fracturing of the Democratic Party being dragged into what I, you know, the mud by what I consider to be, you know, there are a lot of people who hear certain things from these candidates, socialist candidates, that they agree with, that we probably all agree with, that sound great.

And then there are the Other talking points that they lean into to pander to an audience that, you're right, is defined by their stance against Israel.

Not what they're for, but against the state of Israel's existence in general.

And I'm someone, you know, I'm right in the sweet spot on the U.S.-Israel question in this race.

I've made everybody mad at me.

I mean, what can we do to get the supply up in this city, more

And how do you how do you run for an office at a local level, even though it's for Congress and not ignore what your grandfather said? I mean, how did you do it? Because it's all about what when am I going to get this? When am I going to get my free that it's it's this is something that I think plagues anyone running for office.

Totally.

You know, people forget JFK was the ultimate outsider when he started and when he ran for president.

And people might laugh hearing this coming from me because I'm, you know, his grandson.

But I'm the outsider in this race, too.

And the institutions here in in New York, 12 in New York City.

They don't want to change.

This is a cancer that needs to be cut out of the Democratic Party.

Why is that something that you keep going back to?

Like, people act like I've never done anything before, and people act like the only experience is if you cash a taxpayer paycheck, and there's only one type of experience, and that argument has been used forever against JFK, against my Uncle Teddy when they ran, that they didn't have the experience required.

That's what they said about Mondale.

It's what they said about Obama.

That's what people inside the system say about people from outside who want to try to help, and that's all I'm doing.

I'm just offering myself up as a candidate just trying to help, and people really, really want to vote for me.

And I don't understand why my experience as working on campaigns, someone who can practice law in the state of New York, someone with a business degree, someone who built their own media company, yeah, of course, that's not the traditional experience people have, and I think that's what's gonna make me way better at the job than somebody who has been sucking up to the same mega donors here in New York City who's just gonna go down to Washington and do things the exact same way.

My colleague Jason Beaferman reported on comments you made in May when you said that you were, quote, "a stronger supporter of Israel than you ever thought you would be." You-

Is that a fair way to characterize it? Campaign surrogate?

Well, no, I mean, I think, look, I, I'm a lawyer with an MBA.

I spent a lifetime working on political campaigns.

I worked at the state department, um, and volunteered for organizations throughout my entire life.

I have an understanding of how politics works and how, uh, people at the highest levels of government think.

So I think my experience that makes me prepared for this is the person that I am.

Everybody has a unique life experience.

Using your legal training and looking, assessing world events, your diplomatic background, what do you see as qualifying? Well,

And how do you how do you run for an office at a local level, even though it's for Congress and not ignore what your grandfather said? I mean, how did you do? Because it's all about what when am I going to get this? When am I going to get my free that it's it's this is something that I think plagues

anyone running for office.

Totally.

You know, people forget JFK was the ultimate outsider when he started and when he ran for president.

And people might laugh hearing this coming from me because I'm, you know, his grandson.

But I'm the outsider in this race, too.

And the institutions here in in New York, 12 in New York City.

This is a cancer that needs to be cut out of the Democratic Party.

totally

people forget JFK was the ultimate outsider when he started and when he ran for president and people might laugh hearing this coming from me because I'm you know his grandson I'm the outsider in this race too and the institutions here in in New York 12 in New York City They don't want to change.

They have no new answers.

They just tell people what they want to hear.

I'm running against someone, Michael Asher, whose final closing argument to everybody was, I've got a plan so that everyone is guaranteed a job and a house.

No one asks any follow-up questions.

I think we've got to start running our government.

This is a cancer that needs to be cut out of the Democratic Party.

Why is that something that you keep going back to?

Like, people act like I've never done anything before, and people act like the only experience is if you cash a taxpayer paycheck, and there's only one type of experience.

And that argument has been used forever against JFK, against my Uncle Teddy when they ran, that they didn't have the experience required.

That's what they said about Mondale.

It's what they said about Obama.

That's what people inside the system say about people from outside who want to try to help.

And that's all I'm doing.

My colleague Jason Beaferman reported on comments you made in May when you said that you were, quote, "a stronger supporter of Israel than you ever thought you would be." You-

When you first heard that President Trump was planning on renaming the center and watched his name supersede that of your grandfather, I mean, what was your reaction? Was it anger? Was it disbelief? Was it like, what?

President Kennedy has a famous quote that goes, where he said, a nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors and the men it remembers.

And when I saw what President Trump was doing by trying to to desecrate a living memorial, as I said before.

It's something that we should all take personally, because President Kennedy represented all the work of the generation of Americans who sacrificed for all of us here today, for the democracy we live in, the greatest generation that defeated communism and fascism across the world, and then came home and sent a man to the moon.

That's what JFK represents.

And President Trump, his agenda stands in opposition to all of that.

And this is just an example of we don't have to accept defeat here.

And is that something that you pick up, that you try to emulate somewhat in your campaign in your own way, not the Trumpian

What do you say to that?

I'm 33 years old, lived my whole life in the public eye.

I have zero gaps on my resume.

I went to a great school, studied Japanese history, worked in Japan for a year while my mom was there.

Got an opportunity to work for Secretary of State John Kerry on an oceans project.

Then Trump...

I was a political appointee.

Is the clock on? Okay, the clock's on.

What did you want to do, and what did they want you to do?

I wanted to go hard after RFK Jr.

And, um, and at the time, there was a lot of risk aversion there, so I quit 'cause I couldn't live with myself if I didn't speak out in the way I wanted to.

And I, I got a lot of heat for that, but I knew I had to do it my way.

So I, you know, I spent about a month writing over draft, over draft, over what kind of statement I wanted to release about RFK Jr.

And one day, I just picked up my phone out of my pocket and started talking to it and posted it.

He's trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories, and conflict for personal gain and fame.

Um, how do you respond to that Times piece?

What am I doing here? What are we doing

here? It's like that's why I'm doing it.

That's literally why.

It's because I in many ways, I am the ultimate kind of representation of pedigree or insider or establishment because of the name is synonymous with that.

But the name itself, there's an actual story behind it, which has not always been understood as people in my family become kind of icons is that they themselves were disruptors.

And that's the legacy that I identify with.

It's not so much the like iconography or celebrity.

So do your thing and head to Crocs.com or a store near you now.

What did you want to do, and what did they want you to do?

I wanted to go hard after RFK Jr., and, um, and at the time, there was a lot of risk aversion there, so I quit 'cause I couldn't live with myself if I didn't speak out in the way I wanted to.

And I, I got a lot of heat for that, but I knew I had to do it my way.

So I, you know, I spent about a month writing over draft, over draft, over what kind of statement I wanted to release about RFK Jr.

And one day, I just picked up my phone out of my pocket and started talking to it and posted it.He's trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories, and conflict for personal gain and fame.

I've listened to him.

I know him.

Mm-hmm.

What would you say to that criticism?

I would say that he...

Bad staffing.

Uh, didn't... wasn't briefed very well.

I, uh, I was a delegate to the DNC in 2024.

I traveled across the country for the Biden and Harris campaigns as a top Democratic surrogate.

Um, I have spent a lifetime representing and working on, uh, extending President Kennedy's legacy and the important values that it represents across the world.

Which one r- reflects how you really feel right now as you say-

So I, I do wanna ask, do you think it's actually possible to implement a progressive agenda?

agenda?I absolutely do.

Of course I do.

First of all, you know, things are bad right now.

I understand.

This is a dark moment in political history, and it's easy to give up and be disillusioned, but things have always been very difficult in American politics, and some of the most important progressive pieces of legislation, the post-war reconstruction amendments, the New Deal, these came after moments of intense struggle in our country and division.

I mean, Trump has shown us exactly who he is.

Just to push you a bit, degrees from Harvard and Yale and knowing how to deliver a message and your social media acumen, those are all impressive things, but what do you say to some of the people in your district who wonder whether that's enough to get things done or who are uneasy with the fact that at 33 years old you haven't really settled into a single job?

Impeccable academic cred- credentials for sure

...

I worked, uh, I worked abroad in, in Japan.

I worked at the State Department.

The four months is not how long I worked at the State Department.

It was just under a year.

I left because, uh, Barack Obama, uh, left power.

If, if you were to be elected, if you're a part of a Democratic majority, what would you like to be investigated about him first?

Where did we go wrong? Wh- where did that stop happening?

I don't know the exact critical point, but I know for the last 10 years since President Trump entered the scene, we've been inundated with a form of propaganda that encourages us to think the system is rigged against us.

I think a huge part of this is also started in 2010 with Citizens United.

Uh, the influence of money in our politics is a huge reason why people are so discouraged and think that their voice doesn't count, uh, that their vote doesn't count.

I don't take money from super PACs, corporate PACs, APAC, AI, and big tech companies, where my opponents do, millions of dollars being flooded into this primary.

And I'm doing that not because I c- I...

it was unavailable to me, uh, or because it's a moral thing to do.

Do you think he's dangerous?

Yes.

As you heard Senator Ossoff say, it's a corruption crisis.

It's also a cost crisis and a constitutional crisis.

And people want a new generation, not just because they're, we're young, but because we speak to the young at heart who still believe in politics and because our campaign is doing great.

And the, and the folks you mentioned are doing such a great job, because we're speaking in language people can understand advocating for real policies that people want, like deduct your rent from your taxes, something our campaign is talking about, or making Trump pay for his, the permanent perimeter around Trump Tower here in New York City, which costs the city $300 million a year.

I've got a plan to-

What do you hear most, and how much of sort of being a Kennedy attaches to what voters want to hear you weigh in on? Like, do you feel like there's an expectation that you'll weigh in on every national issue as well as the local issues you'd be focused on if you went to Congress?

Well, I think voters in New York 12, we know that this is the center of the universe.

Yep.

We're sucking up to mega donors, and we're, we, we have no idea what people care about in their daily lives because their voices can't be heard because they're being drowned out by big donors who are writing fat checks.

And I'm not taking that money because it forces us to do things like have pizza parties that are open to the public, make myself available through friendraisers, going out on the street and meeting people around the district, trying to organize the energy of the constituents who live here and listen to them, 'cause that's what a representative should do.

And the people I'm running against are incredible examples of the way the Democratic Party should not be operating right now.

Having a super PAC funded by a billionaire plastering your name all over television ads.

Another one who has a super PAC funded by Anthropic AI company, the people who ran that.

And to me, it's out of control.

Totally.

All I want is our country to be in good shape, to make sure our kids and grandkids have a great life.

I couldn't agree more.

Whenever I walk around Manhattan, New York City, this district, it's impossible to walk by the UN, Empire State Building, Central Park, and not think about how incredible we got set up by generations that came before us, how much they sacrificed so that we would have the rights we have, this amazing city that we have, this great economy we have, and it's our responsibility to keep that tradition alive here in America by believing in our politics and not accepting that someone can be bought and paid for.

Look, I'm running against people who are backed by massive billionaires or massive AI companies.

And they're taking millions of dollars hand over fist to try to buy an election.

And that to me, that's that is the least New York thing you can possibly do.

This city is awesome.

I never met your granddad, the president, President Jack Kennedy, but I admired him, and all my friends admired him, and I hope you take after him.

And all I want, you know, working hard at this age, All I want is our country to be in good shape, to make sure our kids and grandkids have a great life.

I couldn't agree more.

Whenever I walk around Manhattan, New York City, this district, it's impossible to walk by the UN, Empire State Building, Central Park, and not think about how incredible we got set up by generations that came before us, how much they sacrificed so that we would have the rights we have, this amazing city that we have, this great economy we have.

And it's our responsibility to keep that tradition alive here in America by believing in our politics and not accepting that someone can be bought and paid for.

Look, I'm running against people who are backed by massive, billionaires or massive AI companies and they're taking millions of dollars hand over fist to try to buy an election and that to me that's that is the least New York thing you can possibly do this city is awesome the city is the place that it is because we like a challenge and because we cannot be bought you can make it here you can make it anywhere you shouldn't have to ask for a bailout from a billionaire

Anything else you want to

tell the people on a Sunday morning? Absolutely.

I want to tell people about my common sense policies.

Can you talk to us about that first?

Absolutely.

Thank you so much for having me on the program, Ben.

I'm a, I'm a longtime listener, and I, uh, this is, uh...

I'm so happy to be here with you, and tha- and thanks for all that you guys are doing to get the message out there.

Yes, the Republican retreat.

Um, our Congress isn't working for us, and that's a huge reason why I'm running.

So talk to us about what, what you're running on.

I understand

... given what's going on right now, but I really am.

I really am because I have met so many young people all across the country campaigning in 2024 and now campaigning in, in Manhattan in New York 12 who are so excited, who have never been more in- uh, wanting to, wanna get involved, wanna volunteer, wanna sign up, wanna m-make videos on their Instagram and tell people what they think, and that's the power that always wins in the long run.

So I'm very optimistic that we can become cool again, but I think it's gonna take a long time because we are behind right now, and we're gonna be behind for a long time because what you're seeing kind of since Obama, he galvanized people in a way that was completely new at the time.

He was the first person to have social media in 2008 and Twitter, and he was on the cutting edge of that, and we fell back, and we rested on our laurels, and we ceded the whole internet and the new age media to the right, which invested in talent and lifted up fringe voices that then became kind of mainstream, where we didn't.

You know, no Democratic politician really had an Instagram until a year ago, and so Instagram, social media's not everything, but you have to compete there if you wanna win, and that's one thing that I'm trying to do with this campaign because I think social media is ruining the entire world, but I also think it's our only hope to try to get out of this situation because it... at the end of the day, it can be very democratic, and it does favor people or the party that is on the side of the people, and yeah, that's what I'm trying to do.

What fueled that evolution, and how do you think differently now?

So I've always been very progressive, very liberal, and I went to school to be an environmental lawyer, and I worked at the environmental law clinic.