Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal hit Donald Trump on the front-running presidential candidate’s response to the ongoing debate about the jailing of the Kentucky clerk who refused marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Trump had discussed the punishment Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis faced for disobeying the law on MSNBC.
“I hate to see her put in jail,” Trump told MSNBC. “[But] the Supreme Court has ruled. That’s the law of the land.”
Sensing an opportunity on the campaign trail, Jindal rebuked The Donald in a series of tweets, exclaiming, “You can’t make America great again by throwing Christians in jail.”
“I understand asking forgiveness from God and respecting communion is a personal decision,” the governor tweeted. “But even really rich New Yorkers should oppose jailing Christians for their religious beliefs.”
Jindal followed up his tweets with a fundraising pitch in an email titled, “Trump turns his back on Christians.”
“Religious liberty is one of the founding principles of our nation,” Jindal wrote. “I will never abandon my commitment to protect our freedom so that I can get praise from the liberal media — or suck up to Donald Trump.”
Trump receives the support of more than 27 percent of GOP voters surveyed, according to RealClearPolitics’ average of national polls. Jindal receives 0.2 percent support in the same average.
Jindal has often refrained from talking about Trump on the campaign trail. Instead, he has repeatedly sought to challenge Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker about the best way to repeal and replace Obamacare.
When the Washington Examiner asked Jindal earlier this summer about Trump’s laudatory comments about single payer healthcare, Jindal opted for an answer about what differentiated him from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. With the next Republican presidential debate fewer than two weeks away, Jindal is looking for every opportunity to increase his visibility.
