Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is hoping that a blistering takedown of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump will help lift his struggling campaign out from the bottom of the crowded 2016 field.
Jindal called Trump “unstable,” “a narcissist,” “unserious,” and “a carnival act” during remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
“I want to say what everyone is thinking about Donald Trump but is afraid to say,” Jindal said before ripping into Trump.
“He is shallow, there is no substance. He doesn't know anything about policy, he has no idea what he is talking about. He makes it up on the fly,” Jindal said.
Along with the speech, Jindal's campaign released two web videos mocking Trump. One is a mashup of all the things Trump has said he loves throughout the campaign, ending with an "Anchorman" clip of absentminded weatherman Brick Tamland saying "I love lamp." The other compares Trump's promises of winning to actor Charlie Sheen during the notoriously outrageous interviews the actor did in 2011.
GOP candidates who have gone after Trump, like Lindsey Graham and Rick Perry, have so far not been rewarded in the polls. A CNN/ORC Poll released Thursday found that the real estate mogul continues to hold a commanding lead in the national GOP race, garnering support from 32 percent of Republicans.
Jindal, along with Graham, were at one percent in the poll. Perry polled below one percent.
Throughout the campaign, Trump has fired back with force at those who have gone after him on the campaign trail, regardless of their current standing in the race. He gave out Graham’s cell phone number during an event in July, and tweeted that Perry “should be forced to take an IQ test before being allowed to enter the GOP debate.”
And Trump’s most frequent target has been Jeb Bush, who he has attacked on a daily basis since the start of his campaign.
Last week, Trump said he hopes surging GOP rival Ben Carson will attack him at soon “because I love to counter-punch." He has since engaged in a feud with the former neurosurgeon that he says Carson started.
Trump responded to Jindal on Twitter:
“I think the Donald Trump show has been entertaining. I’ve enjoyed him as a reality TV show star, but just because a lot of people like watching Kim Kardashian, we wouldn't put her in the White House either,” Jindal said. “He is an unserious, unstable, narcissistic egomaniac...Let’s make America great again, it starts by firing Donald Trump.”
