But Johnson doesn’t get many opportunities on the national stage, thanks to his outsider status – and this opportunity, it seems safe to say, was a missed one.
Advertisement
On Thursday during a televised interview, the Libertarian Party candidate, #Gary Johnson, was asked about Aleppo and he shot back the question, ” And what is Aleppo?”.
“And what is Aleppo?”.
Barnicle, in seeming disbelief, said: “You’re kidding”.
Presidential candidate Gary Johnson said, “What is Aleppo?” when asked about the refugee crisis in the Syrian city.
Johnson made a point of critiquing the USA involvement and said the US needs to partner with Russian Federation to find a diplomatic solution.
Host Joe Scarborough pressed Johnson on his whiff, making a pointed reference to the former New Mexico governor’s noninterventionist positions.
Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein are both still working to get to the 15 percent polling threshold in national surveys they need to qualify for the opening September 26 presidential debate. “I think that can happen to anyone”, Weld said.
Chris Karpowitz, a political science professor at Brigham Young University, said it’s unclear how much of an effect Romney’s message and Johnson’s misstep will have in Utah, where the overwhelmingly conservative state has given a relatively lukewarm response for Trump.
Following the interviews, Johnson admitted he dropped the ball on the question. You remember that red-line, the one drawn so the US does not get involved unless horrific acts against mankind occurs? “Can I name every city in Syria?”
Johnson appeared perplexed and said “What is Aleppo?”.
Gary Johnson Asks: “What Is Aleppo?”.
He also released a statement, explaining that he is “human” and that as president he would surround himself with experts and receive daily security briefings to fill any gaps in his knowledge. Do I understand its significance? Yes. I think probably 85 percent of the people in the country couldn’t put Aleppo on a map, so I’m not sure the outcome of the slip is going to be lasting at all. “I was thinking in terms of acronym”.
Some took to Twitter to defend Johnson, pointing out that other presidential nominees have made notable errors and that Donald Trump, in particular, has made more damning remarks.
Talking about Aleppo isn’t going to solve everything, but knowing what it is is a start. “It worked. That is what a President must do”, he wrote.
Information for this article was contributed by Mark Halperin and Margaret Talev of Bloomberg News; and by Nicholas Riccardi of The Associated Press.
Advertisement
However, he has just 8.6 support in the current average of opinion polls by website RealClearPolitics in a matchup with Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
