Since Democrats’ total implosion at the ballot box earlier this month, party leadership and the pundit class have been scrambling to come up with answers. And, so far, those answers have ranged from transphobia to xenophobia. But on the latest Pod Save America episode, which featured advisers from Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign, top campaign officials are boldly arguing that Democrats actually did nothing wrong. If you’re as frustrated with all of this as I am, then you might just be able to relate to Jack Schlossberg, President John F. Kennedy’s grandson. Schlossberg is most famous for his esoteric tweets about milk and Jesus’ body type but dipped his toe into political commentary this year by becoming Vogue’s freelance political correspondent.
Over the last 24 hours, with his signature digital incoherence, Schlossberg has been going for the jugular against the Pod Save America bro-hosts for their conversation with Harris campaign staff as well as top Democratic Party operatives like David Plouffe, seemingly agreeing with their exonerations of the Harris campaign. Democrats were surely fighting an uphill battle by subbing Harris in just 100 days before the election. But there were arguably some pretty unforced errors the campaign should accept responsibility for, like heeding the demands of Harris’ brother-in-law, an Uber executive, to soften the campaign’s tone on corporations, or ceaselessly trotting out Liz Cheney, who seems to have scared off large swaths of Pennsylvania voters, or tuning out the basic demands of Arab-American voters in Michigan.
Podcast was a COMEDY not a TRAGEDY
Absolutely no grace or humility.
No accountability. No CLUE. Truly insulting.
But there’s a happy ending — never have to listen to the person below again, and neither do any of you ! pic.twitter.com/lKMmDCdhhh
— Jack Schlossberg (@JBKSchlossberg) November 27, 2024
On Tuesday night, Schlossberg quote-tweeted a screenshot of the Pod Save America episode and wrote, “Podcast was a COMEDY not a TRAGEDY / Absolutely no grace or humility. No accountability. No CLUE. Truly insulting. But there’s a happy ending—never have to listen to the person below again, and neither do any of you !” I appreciate and agree with the sentiment, but unfortunately, if there’s one thing the Trump era has shown us, it’s that we will never be free of the opinions of incompetent, out-of-touch Democratic operatives.
Pod save my LIMP DICK.
If you don’t push back I WILL DO IT FOR YOU.
Time for something new …
— Jack Schlossberg (@JBKSchlossberg) November 27, 2024
Then, first thing Wednesday morning, Schlossberg, still fixated on the episode, heated things up a bit: “Pod save my LIMP DICK. If you don’t push back I WILL DO IT FOR YOU. Time for something new …” Shortly after that, he quote-tweeted a post from Pod Save America co-host Jon Favreau: “I think you need a permanent vacation :) SPIRITUAL WARFARE.” Lately, Favreau has caught some heat on social media from progressive voices and other pundits for suggesting Democrats will sometimes have to take more conservative positions on immigration and LGBTQ issues to win elections; his tweet in question criticized people who “reject any data or information that doesn't confirm all their political beliefs.” Schlossberg did not take particularly kindly to that!
Crooked Media didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Schlossberg's recent posts. But Favreau did respond to one of Schlossberg's tweets — specifically, the one mentioning his, err, "limp dick." Favreau replied on Wednesday afternoon, "I'm not sure we can do this for you but I think one of our sponsors may be able to help?" and then offered an "open invitation" for Schlossberg to talk about his perspective on the pod.
Before that, Schlossberg’s attempts to get the Pod Save bros’ attention carried over to Instagram, where he posted screenshots of his tweets to his Instagram story, tagging the podcast’s account in each post. He also posted screenshots of another of his tweets not once but seven times, this time tagging the senior Harris adviser being interviewed, Stephanie Cutter… all seven times.
he posted this one 7 (yes, SEVEN!!!!!) times IJBOL https://t.co/2g1l1vs2nB pic.twitter.com/HWPuvWy9gt
— Annie Wu (all socials: @annie_wu_22) (@Annie_Wu_22) November 27, 2024
In the episode Schlossberg seems to be taking issue with, Plouffe inexplicably argued that Democrats have to cater more to conservative-leaning moderates — even as exit polls suggest Democrats actually struggled to win over their own base. Meanwhile, Cutter explained that Harris wouldn’t distinguish herself from President Biden, a highly unpopular incumbent, out of loyalty, even though this likely would have helped her. The episode thus far has frustrated or enraged large swaths of Pod Save America listeners, who are accusing the Harris campaign and Democratic Party of refusing to accept responsibility for Trump’s victory, and accusing the podcast hosts of not pushing back on them.
In other words, a lot of people have a lot of big feelings right now — and understandably so! But few seem to be going through it as much as Schlossberg, at least publicly. Sure, all the Instagram stories and tagging may be a little... excessive. But as we find ourselves navigating the increasingly treacherous waters of a second Trump presidency, there are some who believe Democrats need their own brash, unhinged, incoherent, and social media-addicted leader to rise like a phoenix from the ashes and beat Trump at his own game. And I think we’ve got a candidate for that…
We'll see if Schlossberg takes Favreau up on his invitation.
