Jack Schlossberg has accused the US president of using declassification as “a political prop”
Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of John F. Kennedy, has lashed out at US President Donald Trump for his decision to declassify files related to JFK’s assassination in 1963.
The high-profile shooting of the 35th US president has long been a subject of speculation regarding the alleged involvement of rogue elements within the US government.
Trump’s executive order, signed on Thursday, mandates that plans for the release of the JFK assassination files be developed within 15 days. The president has claimed that the decision is “the first step toward restoring transparency and accountability.”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) later that day, Schlossberg addressed what he described as “conspiracy theories” surrounding his grandfather’s death.
“The truth is alot [sic] sadder than the myth — a tragedy that didn’t need to happen. Not part of an inevitable grand scheme. Declassification is using JFK as a political prop, when he’s not here to punch back. There’s nothing heroic about it,” he wrote.
Many X users disagreed with Schlossberg’s statement. Some have argued that JFK and the facts of his life and death “belong to the American people.” Others have questioned the prolonged secrecy, arguing that “there is obviously something in there the government doesn’t want to let the public know.”
Trump had made a similar pledge during his first term in office but ultimately yielded to pressure from the CIA and FBI to keep some documents withheld.
President Kennedy was fatally shot in Dallas, Texas in November 1963. The official investigation identified former US Marine Lee Harvey Oswald as the sole suspect. It did not establish, however, a clear motive beyond his general discontent with society and the government. The alleged perpetrator himself was killed soon afterward by local resident Jack Ruby.
JFK conspiracy theories —
The truth is alot sadder than the myth — a tragedy that didn’t need to happen. Not part of an inevitable grand scheme.
Declassification is using JFK as a political prop, when he’s not here to punch back.
Along with the records related to President Kennedy, Trump’s executive order aims to declassify the remaining federal records related to the 1968 assassinations of JFK’s brother and political ally Senator Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights campaigner Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
The King family reacted to the disclosure with more restraint.
In a statement on Facebook, King’s youngest daughter Bernice described the assassination as “a deeply personal family loss.” She went on to say that the Reverend’s relatives hope “to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release.”
Schlossberg has recently faced a backlash for several controversial statements. Earlier this month, he sparked outrage by comparing Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, to his grandmother Jacqueline Kennedy, a remark he later admitted was inappropriate. In 2024, he condemned the auction of clothing belonging to his late aunt, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, calling the sale “super creepy.” In 2023, he described his cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign as “an embarrassment” and endorsed Joe Biden instead.
