Bobby Jindal’s Presidential Announcement Leads To #BobbyJindalIsSoWhite Hashtag
Shortly after Bobby Jindal announced his intention to run for president of the United States, a mocking hashtag began to trend on Twitter in India.
The hashtag? #BobbyJindalIsSoWhite
It’s been difficult for many political pundits to take Bobby Jindal’s announcement seriously. Sure, the Louisiana governor has gained popularity quickly within the GOP party, but in a crowded GOP race, Jindal barely even registers. In fact, some polls have reported that he has less than one percent of the voter base behind him.
-IS #BOBBYJINDAL SERIOUS? SOME POLLS EVEN TELLS THAT HE HAS 0% POPULARITY! pic.twitter.com/GjsjN2ARpq
— Bobby Jindal LOL (@JindalLOL) June 24, 2015
Not only has Jindal’s announcement kicked off a firestorm of criticism from political pundits, but Jindal’s announcement also has drawn criticism from those in India who believe Jindal has worked too hard to distance himself from his Indian heritage. According to an L.A. Times reporter, Indian citizens are highly concerned about how the rest of the world sees the country. Shashank Bengali wrote as follows.
“As a rising power, India is obsessed with its image in the world, so the announcement of the first U.S. presidential candidate with Indian roots figured to create a stir.”
Those critical of Jindal’s distancing tactics took to Twitter with the Bobby Jindal hashtag.
#BobbyJindalIsSoWhite that the White House will now be called Bobby House. — Sting Ray (@Purba_Ray) June 25, 2015
#bobbyjindalissowhite that he mispronounces his own name.
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) June 25, 2015
#BobbyJindalIsSoWhite that he has to be washed separately in warm water. — Damsel in This Dress (@secondofhername) June 25, 2015
#BobbyJindalIsSoWhite that he eats a Masala dosa with a spoon & fork — Atul Khatri (@one_by_two) June 25, 2015
Yo #bobbyjindalissowhite that he thinks Cricket is a corrupted form of Baseball. pic.twitter.com/57rfi1OyUm — VeeGee Narendra (@VeGeEn) June 25, 2015
In the sea of critical and mocking Twitter users, there was at least one person who thought the Bobby Jindal hashtag was less-than appropriate.
I think this hashtag #bobbyjindalissowhite is in very very poor taste. Can we mind our own business? Pl retweet, if you agree.
— Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) June 25, 2015
During his announcement speech, Jindal called for Americans to disregard heritage, race, and “hyphens” in order to live together as Americans.
“I’m sick and tired of people dividing Americans… And I am done with all this talk about hyphenated Americans. We are not Indian-Americans, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, rich Americans or poor Americans. We are all Americans.”
Bobby Jindal, 44, was born in Louisiana in 1971 to immigrants from the Punjab region of India. Bobby was given the birth name of Piyush but later changed it, according to the L.A. Times.
In jumping into the primary race, Jindal joins a crowded Republican field of 16 that includes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and Donald Trump.
See Bobby Jindal talk about his decision to run below.
[Photo by Sean Gardner / Getty Images]
