This story has been updated.
Jindal added that Trump “is shallow. Has no understanding of policy. He’s full of bluster but has no substance. He lacks the intellectual curiosity to even learn.”
The Louisiana Republican’s blistering assault on the GOP front-runner comes on the same day a CNN/ORC poll shows Trump pulling even further ahead of the rest of the GOP field, taking 32 percent support. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson took 19 percent support in the same poll and former Florida governor, who at one point was expected by political watchers to be the clear front runner, took just 9 percent support.
“Like all narcissists, Donald Trump is insecure and weak, and afraid of being exposed. And that’s why he is constantly telling us how big and how rich and how great he is, and how insignificant everyone else is,” Jindal said. “We’ve all met people like Trump, and we know that only a very weak and small person needs to constantly tell us how strong and powerful he is. Donald Trump believes that he is the answer to every question.”
Jindal isn't the first underdog candidate to try to ride a Trump attack to the top of the polls; other candidates, such as former Texas governor Rick Perry, have also pursued the strategy -- without much payoff. Jindal called Trump a “carnival act,” a phrase Perry also used last month during a speech dedicated entirely to knocking Trump ahead of the first GOP presidential debate.
In the run-up to Thursday's speech, Jindal's campaign released a video comparing Trump to controversial actor Charlie Sheen.
The Trump/Sheen dream team.https://t.co/AHYLl2NFVahttps://t.co/pExBDStIm7
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) September 10, 2015
"You may have recently seen that after Trump said the Bible is his favorite book, he couldn’t name a single Bible verse or passage that meant something to him," said Jindal. "And we all know why, because it’s all just a show, and he hasn’t ever read the Bible. But you know why he hasn’t read the Bible? Because he’s not in it."
The business mogul has repeatedly said that he will hit back at candidates who knock him, which has led to a series of escalating feuds with nearly every other candidate in the field -- and a response to Jindal's comments is almost certain.
On Thursday Trump locked horns with Carson after the retired surgeon made a comment that seemingly questioned Trump’s faith. The billionaire fired back by challenging Carson’s talents as a surgeon and his religious convictions.
“He makes Bush look like the Energizer Bunny,” Trump said Thursday morning on CNN. “...If you look at his past, which I've done, he wasn't a big man of faith. All of a sudden he's become this man of faith. And he was heavy into the world of abortion.”
Carson told The Washington Post Thursday that he is not looking for a fight. “The media frequently wants to goad people into wars, into gladiator fights, you know. And I’m certainly not going to get into that,” he said.
Commenting on the feud during a phone-interview on ABC's "The View" Thursday, Trump said that Carson "started it."
"Remember, I like to finish it," said Trump.