Bobby Jindal on portrait: 'I'm not white?'

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal took a jab at people who lit up Twitter over a portrait of him with white skin.

"You mean I'm not white?" Jindal said Monday at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast for reporters. "I'm shocked at this revelation. The left is obsessed with race."

A liberal blogger in Louisiana last week tweeted what he said was the "official portrait" of Jindal hanging at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge. That photo was widely circulated on Twitter.

Jindal's chief of staff, Kyle Plotkin, tweeted a picture of the Republican governor's real official portrait, saying the other was loaned by a constituent. He also thanked the blogger, Lamar White Jr., for his "race-baiting tweet."

Jindal, who is considering running for president, said he believes the flap over the portrait is "silly" and highlights what he believes is a liberal obsession.

"I think the left is obsessed with race," said Jindal, whose parents are from India. "The dumbest thing we can do is try to divide people by the color of their skin. … The left is devoid of ideas and this is, unfortunately, what they've resorted to — name calling, attacking, dividing people by the color of their skin. This is nonsense. We're all Americans."

Jindal said he doesn't recall meeting the artist who did the controversial portrait.

The governor was in Washington to discuss Common Core educational standards, which he wants to see repealed. The issue could become a point of contention in the GOP presidential primary, since Jeb Bush is a strong supporter.

Contributing: Susan Page and Deborah Barfield Berry