Caroline Kennedy, Crushing on Nancy Pelosi, Gives Speaker 2019 Profile in Courage Award
Former President John F. Kennedy’s daughter has a crush on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
“I probably have as great a crush on her as she had on President Kennedy,” Caroline Kennedy, the former ambassador to Japan, admitted at the annual Profile in Courage Award ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Library Sunday night.
Pelosi, 79, was the recipient of the prestigious award that has been given to such notables as U.S. Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, and former presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, introduced Pelosi, who said she was accepting the award with a “full and humble heart.”
Pelosi told those in attendance how she was introduced to Kennedy’s book Profiles in Courage in grade school and that it had “such an impact on me and on my generation.”
“In high school, I had the privilege to meet [then] Senator Kennedy when he came to Baltimore. My father was mayor, and I got to sit at the head table. Everyone was dazzled by his brilliance,” she recalled. “In college, I attended his inauguration and, on that freezing, thrilling day, heard his electrifying call to public service.”
The times have found us to strengthen America. It is not about politics – it is about patriotism. #ProfileInCourage
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) May 20, 2019
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.@SpeakerPelosi accepts the 2019 Profile in Courage Award and says it was not arrogance, but courage that serves as the foundation for the United States of America. pic.twitter.com/8mr42RJZrY
— JFK Library (@JFKLibrary) May 20, 2019
Kennedy, 61, who spoke before her son, praised Pelosi, the first female speaker of the house.
“Thanks to her courage, we have health care for all Americans,” she said.
Kennedy thanked the 650 guests for attending the event — especially with Sunday night being the Game of Thrones finale.
That prompted Schlossberg, 26 and the youngest of Kennedy’s three children with Ed Schlossberg, to say when he took to the stage that “we’re all surprised — myself included — to know that you watch Game of Thrones mom. I had no idea.”
Jack attended the event with a striking blonde woman with whom he held hands and cuddled for much of the evening. In his remarks on stage, he said he has “the best mother in the world” and thanked her for everything she does for their family and for the Kennedy Library. His father and his sister, Tatiana, were in the audience while his sister Rose did not attend.
RELATED: Why JFK’s Grandson Jack Schlossberg Loves America – But Not the Current Leadership
.@SpeakerPelosi has acted in service of our highest principles and our most vulnerable citizens. She has suffered defeats, but has never given up. Thanks to her courage we have healthcare for all Americans and the most diverse Congress in American history. -Amb. Caroline Kennedy pic.twitter.com/DNnmDplOdu
— JFK Library (@JFKLibrary) May 20, 2019
Schlossberg called Pelosi “the most important woman in American politics and a profile in courage if there ever was one.”
“A 17-term congresswoman, and twice elected speaker of the House of Representatives, hers is a career in courage spanning decades of change and challenge, inspiring hope and withstanding hate, delivering victories and surviving setbacks — all in service to our country,” Schlossberg said. “She’s responsible for major legislative achievements, and chief among these is the Affordable Care Act.”
Schlossberg, a Harvard University law student, joked that the event is always special to him — “and not just because it’s the last thing between me and summer vacation.”
“It’s also a moment to draw inspiration from President Kennedy, to carry his legacy, and to celebrate in our time what he admired most in his: Political courage,” he said. “Her discipline, focus, and integrity stand out and raise the bar; setting an example for my generation to follow.”
