Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is trailing behind fellow 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, but he has a plan to get the press attention he needs — mention the real estate mogul whenever he can.
“I realize that the best way to make news is to mention Donald Trump. That’s the gold standard for making news these days,” Jindal said in a yet-to-be-delivered address. Media have enabled the unexpected ascendency of Trump, which has overshadowed most of the GOP field, he added.
“So, I’ve decided to randomly put his name into my remarks at various points, thereby ensuring that the news media will cover what I have to say,” he said.
Jindal also took a shot at the press for ignoring the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe into Hillary Clinton’s private sever, and said reporters haven’t told the truth about how weak the Democratic field is.
“Let’s tell the truth here — this crop of Democrat candidates is terribly weak. It’s a joke. It’s a complete disaster for the Democrat Party,” he wrote.
Reporters have focused more on stories about GOP infighting, Jindal said before adding, “Also … did I mention Donald Trump?”
Jindal is not wrong when he says media have focused more on Trump than on his own campaign. For network and cable television, it’s not even close, according to data compiled by TV Eyes:
Trump is the current 2016 GOP frontrunner, beating out former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, according to a Real Clear Politics polling average.
The real estate king leads Jindal 24.3 percent to 1.3 percent.
