With the tragic anniversary of the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. looming on the horizon, historian Steven Gillon, author of a recently published biography titled “America's Reluctant Prince”, has now stepped forward to shed light on the life of the late Kennedy scion.
Son of US President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr was killed along with his wife Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette when the light aircraft he was flying crashed into Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Massachusetts on 16 July 1999.
During an interview with the Town & Country magazine, Gillon, who was a close friend of John’s, answered a few questions about the latter’s life, and addressed rumours about JFK Jr. allegedly planning to run for office prior to his demise.
“He had this exploratory meeting in March 1999 about whether to run for the Senate so he was definitely thinking about it but George was in a bad state, his marriage was in a bad state. He wasn't ready”, Gillon explained, with ‘George’ being the name of the magazine founded by JFK Jr. “He's fighting with his sister. His best friend is dying. He had a lot on his plate. But also, he didn't want to be a legislator—he always saw himself as an executive. Maybe he would run for governor of New York."
As the historian further explained, he believes that John didn’t want to go into politics “because he was a Kennedy” but rather wanted to “do things that no one expected him to do” and “to really find out who he was based on his own experiences”.
“When I first met him in the 80s he always referred to his father as ‘President Kennedy’. Almost as if he's trying to keep his memory at a distance. Later on in the early 90s he's referring to him as ‘my father’. The last time I spoke to him he called him ‘my daddy’. I think he was finally embracing that politics was in his DNA and he could be good at it”, Gillon remarked.
Gillon’s book also features a trove of previously unseen photos chronicling the life of John F. Kennedy Jr, including one picture that was taken a mere four days prior to the crash that claimed his life.
The media outlet also pointed out that a new A&E documentary, “with appearances from those who knew John best”, is expected to premiere on 16 July, on the day of JFK Jr’s tragic demise.
