As he continues to struggle in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana appears bent on gaining ground by attacking the frontrunner, Donald Trump.
In an article he wrote for CNN on Tuesday, Jindal launched what could be the fiercest attack yet by any presidential candidate on Trump, calling him a "madman" who would later self-destruct and hand over the presidency to Democrat Hillary Clinton.
"Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a Donald Trump," he said. "I love the idea of an outsider who doesn't care about political correctness and who says things you're not supposed to. Unfortunately, Donald Trump is the wrong messenger. From the moment he announced his candidacy, everybody knew that, but nobody had the backbone to say it."
Nobody had the guts to question his candidacy, said Jindal, except him, especially since he called Trump out for being "a shallow, unserious, substance-free, narcissistic egomaniac" just last week.
Jindal explained how he came to that conclusion. He said Trump is insecure, weak, and afraid of being exposed. That is why he is constantly telling people how big, rich, and great he is while stressing how insignificant everyone else is.
Jindal also compared Trump to "a kid in a superhero costume" when the latter dared to compare himself to Ronald Reagan. But the two could not be more different, said Jindal, since Reagan was "a terrible entertainer and a great statesman" while Trump is "a great entertainer who would be a terrible statesman."
"His problem with Washington isn't big government, it's that he's not running it. He's not liberal, moderate or conservative. He's not Republican or Democrat. Donald Trump is for Donald Trump. He believes only in himself," said Jindal.
While other presidential hopefuls such as Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, and Rick Perry have called Trump out for his "conservative heresy," it all backfired on them because Jindal said Trump doesn't really care about conservatism.
He also pinned down Texas Senator Ted Cruz for "clinging to Trump like a limpet to an oil tanker" and hoping that he will get Trump's votes once he sinks.
"Conservatives need to say what we are thinking: Donald Trump is a madman who must be stopped. Failure to speak out against Trump is an endorsement of Clinton," he warned.
"We face a choice: We can decide to win, or we can be the biggest fools in history and put our faith not in our principles, but in an egomaniac who has no principles. It's time for Trump to take the ride down his own elevator. It's time we rally behind a serious candidate."
"I love the idea of an outsider who doesn't care about political correctness and who says things you're not supposed to. Unfortunately, Donald Trump is the wrong messenger. From the moment he announced his candidacy, everybody knew that, but nobody had the backbone to say it."
Ben Carson ties with Trump in latest polls
The latest New York Times/CBS News poll showed that retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson has come to a near-tie with Trump as they head towards the second 2016 primary debate.
Carson rose up to 23 percent compared to just 6 percent in a survey taken before the Aug. 6 Republican presidential debate. Trump, on the other hand, had 27 percent of Republican voters' support.
Trump seemed unfazed by the steady climb made by Carson and former HP executive Carly Fiorina, saying "nobody is going to be able to do the job that I am going to do."
Trump and Carson have not engaged in any heated squabble thus far, but Carson has admitted that humility and "fear of the Lord" doesn't really seem high up on Trump's books. For his part, Trump commented that he views Carson as just an "okay doctor."
Carson immediately apologised for questioning Trump's faith thereafter and even told Fox News, "There is no reason ever to question anybody's faith. That's something between them and God."
The Times/CBS poll also showed that Jeb Bush's numbers took a dive from 13 percent down to 6 percent, while Wisconsin governor Scott Walker dipped from 10 percent to 2 percent. The poll was conducted Sept. 9 to 13 and had a margin of error of six percentage points.
In the Democratic front, another survey showed Hillary Clinton's numbers as dwindling while her rival Bernie Sanders are raking up more votes.
