Jindal declines to back 'egomaniacal madman' Trump

Long shot Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal declined to back Donald Trump if he wins the party nomination, calling him an "egomaniacal madman," only to be snubbed by the party frontrunner.

A "non-serious carnival act", "entertaining narcissist," "full of foolishness and nonsense," a "power-hungry shark" who "eats whatever is in front of him" were some of the other epithets he used for Trump in a string of attacks Thursday.

Asking the real estate mogul to return to reality TV after a summer fling with politics, the Louisiana governor, who is languishing at the bottom of polls, said: "The Donald Trump act is great, and the idea of Donald Trump is great."

"But the reality of Donald Trump is absurd," he said suggesting Trump is not a true conservative.

Jindal said it is "silly to argue policy" with Trump because "he has no idea what he's talking about, he makes it all up on the fly" and "lacks the intellectual curiosity to even learn."

"Just because people like watching Kim Kardashian, we wouldn't put her in the White House either," Jindal quipped.

Later appearing on CNN, Jindal vowed, "We're not going to let him win the nomination. He can not be the nominee. He can not be our next president."

"His diagnosis is right, his prescription is false. He is not the solution," he said.

Asked if he would support Trump if he emerges as the Republican nominee as all party presidential contenders, including Trump, have pledged, Jindal declined to answer the "hypothetical" saying they were working to prevent that. Jindal continued to attack Trump on Twitter several times Thursday afternoon, tweeting out a video mocking Trump and telling the candidate to "Stay classy."

Trump struck back mocking Jindal's standing in the polls. "He did not make the debate stage and therefore I have never met him," Trump said.

"I only respond to people that register more than 1 percent in the polls. I never thought he had a chance and I've been proven right."

Jindal has repeatedly attacked Trump in what analysts see as a desperate plea to grab media attention and bolster his standing in the polls.

That strategy so fall has fallen short, with Jindal cracking just 1 percent of support in the latest CNN/ORC poll released Thursday putting him once again in second tier of the presidential debate on CNN on Sep 16.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)