Bobby Jindal and the political limits of anti-Muslim xenophobia

After the Paris terrorist attack, this should have been Jindal's moment

Republican presidential candidate Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal drops out of the race.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

This should be Bobby Jindal's moment in the sun. The Louisiana governor launched his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination with a high-profile attack on Muslim immigrants. The son of immigrants himself, he railed against any people or group (well, Muslims) that would come to the United States and refuse to embrace its dominant culture and values. He was banging the gong about immigration before Donald Trump made it cool, and singling out Muslims for verbal abuse before Dr. Ben Carson said he wouldn't support a Muslim for president.

After the horrible terrorist attack in Paris, the Republican field shifted its foreign policy sights from defeating Russia's Vladimir Putin to slamming the door on Muslim refugees from Syria. Jindal should have been in his element: He had staked out his territory on the issue, and he was pretty quick to join his fellow Republican governors in trying to keep Syrians out, issuing a (largely symbolic) executive order to that effect on Monday morning. Instead, he dropped out of the presidential race, telling Fox News on Tuesday, "this is not my time."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.