Johnson explained when he was asked about Aleppo, he thought of an acronym, not the Syrian conflict.
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With the major party candidates’ negative ratings at historic highs, millions of Americans are looking to third-party candidates, with libertarian Gary Johnson polling highest among third-party candidates now.
When pressed whether Johnson felt it should be considered a “big flap”, the former New Mexico governor replied: “Well sure, it should”.
This was not how White House contender Gary Johnson hoped to finally crack the headlines, mocked mercilessly on Twitter for asking an interviewer “What is Aleppo?” in response to a question about the ravaged Syrian city.
Asked by “Morning Joe” contributor Mike Barnicle what he would do about Aleppo, the center of the Syrian refugee crisis, Johnson asked, “And what is Aleppo?”
Maybe the war in Syria has been relegated to the back of the minds of the general public because of some notion of “not our country, not our problem”, and the terrible words of people like Donald Trump, who tell us that refugees are bad and want to hurt us.
A boy carries his belongings at a site hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo’s al-Fardous district, Syria on April 2, 2015.
Johnson’s blunder was also mocked by Christopher Hill, a former USA ambassador to Iraq, but then Hill embarrassingly got confused and made the same error as the NYT by referring to Aleppo as the ISIS capital.
“Personally, I think Bundy should be allowed to go to court dressed like a cowboy, so long as his defense team is made up of a construction worker, an Indian, a cop, a soldier and a biker”, Colbert said, describing the Village People.
To qualify, they must register 15 percent support in five recognized national polls, according to a threshold set by the debate commission.
Update, 11:10 a.m.: Here’s Johnson’s statement on the incident. He and his running mate, former Gov.
Republican nominee Donald Trump leaves many in Utah cold despite the state’s deep-red credentials, but voters eyeing third-party candidate Gary Johnson may be feeling some whiplash Thursday. While Libertarians are very free-trade oriented, they are often criticized for being isolationist and lacking interest in foreign policy.
Weld said he’s seen an uptick in donations to the ticket.
But many on social media also voiced dismay, posting poignant pictures of years of bloodshed in the Syrian city under the phrase “This is Aleppo”.
Gary Johnson Asks: “What Is Aleppo?” But Johnson’s flub brought a wave of interest. He is a proponent of legalizing the drug and he was previously the chief executive of a business that marketed and sold recreational marijuana products.
Thursday was not the first time that Johnson has faced such a situation.
Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, has been trying to turn the two major candidates’ negative approval ratings to his advantage in the race to win the November 8 election. “I have to get smarter, and that’s just part of the process”, he added. Johnson reportedly said after the interview that he was “incredibly frustrated” with himself.
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“For those who believe this is a disqualifier, so be it”, he said.
