Washington: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's campaign got off to an awkward start after his team put out a hidden camera video in which he and his wife are seen telling their kids about running for presidency but the idea was mocked and panned on social media.
In a gesture of good, old-fashioned family values, Jindal and his wife, Supriya, wanted to let their kids know he is running before they told the world.
But the gesture took a modern twist as Jindal recorded the family conversation, using a hidden camera up in a tree.
The homemade film, with shaky audio quality and Jindal himself obscured by a tree branch, was largely mocked on social media.
A Jindal spokeswoman, Shannon Dirmann, later confirmed to CNN that Jindal's children were not aware they were being taped at the time. Dirmann said the children were fine with the tape and added that criticism of the video came largely from "liberals."
As the Jindals and their three kids sit around a garden table, on a patio flanked by white Romanesque pillars, a device nestled up on a tree records the intimate moment. In the nearly 2-minute video released by Jindal's campaign, the kids do not show much emotion or surprise.
"Mommy and Daddy have been thinking and praying about this a lot," Jindal confides. "We're going to talk to you first and then you can't go tell your friends."
Jindal emphasises this is not news for friends at baseball or soccer practice. And when he makes the big announcement, the kids stay completely mum. Jindal prompts them to react, asking, "How do you feel about that?"
One son gives a quick two thumbs up, and their daughter shrugs.
Earlier yesterday, the video was at the very top of the web page announcing Jindal's candidacy but within hours, the video became unavailable, the National Public Radio reported. The move was widely mocked on social media.
"I mean...'weird hidden camera footage of one's children' is one way to do a presidential announcement. It is a way," one person tweeted.
"This entire video is immensely awkward, from hidden cameras in trees to his despondent kids," another said. "Wow this is a dull promo for the new Paranormal Activity movie," said a person reacting to the video.
