Johnson fielded several questions about foreign policy, a week after he asked “What is Aleppo?” on MSNBC in response to a question about one of the cities hit hardest by the Syrian civil war.
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“And what is Aleppo?”.
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Johnson initially professed ignorance about what Aleppo, the Syrian city at the center of the refugee crisis sweeping the Middle East.
BARNICLE: “What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo?”. Johnson initially said “What is Aleppo?” then offered an answer when reminded it’s Syria’s largest city.
“Well, with regard to Syria, I do think that it’s a mess and that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russian Federation to diplomatically bring that at an end”.
The embarrassing exchange followed a forum on Wednesday night in which Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump sought to showcase their national security and defence credentials.
Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, has been campaigning for a spot on the stage at the first presidential debate September 26.
The Commission on Presidential Debates requires third-party candidates to reach 15 percent in an average of five polls it has selected to qualify.
That is an argument that Johnson and his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, both made in their speeches Saturday.
“I think the Republican Party may split into the Trump Republican Party and the Libertarian Republican Party”, he said.
“I understand its importance”.
He later admitted that this was a mistake: “For those that believe this is a disqualifier, so be it”.
Appearing on ABC’s talk show “The View” later, Johnson reacted mildly to suggestions the gaffe would kill his campaign.
Jonathan Choate, a Johnson supporter from Logan, said he thinks Romney’s tweet will encourage more Utah voters to give Johnson serious consideration, but he’d love to see a Romney endorsement.
“And when I heard the question “Aleppo”, I’m thinking in terms of acronym – what does that stand for?”
Johnson would later say he mentally “blanked”.
But, he said, “I succeeded by surrounding myself with the right people, getting to the bottom of important issues, and making principled decisions”.
“Not remembering or identifying that that’s Aleppo – guilty”, he said. “It worked. That is what a President must do”, he wrote.
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On the home front, Johnson decried Trump’s plan to build a border wall between the US and Mexico – immigrants are “an absolute asset”, he said – and would “utilize that bully pulpit” to speak out against discrimination.
