Deadspin pointed out that Google searches for the city’s name didn’t spike after a chlorine gas attack there on Tuesday.
Advertisement
The city has borne some of the harshest brunt of Syria’s 5-year-old civil war, including recent attacks believed to involve chlorine gas that affected dozens of residents.
“We think that we’ve got a big highway up the middle between the “R” and the “D” party”, Weld said.
“If he had made a controversial comment that offended some people but motivated others, then that’s the type of story that can help in the polls”, Schnur said.
The episode also exposed the limitations of Johnson’s quirky persona as he tries to woo voters from Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“I don’t think I can vote for him”, she said, “especially because national security is the No. 1 issue for me”. He needs to average 15 percent in a set of polls to qualify for the presidential debates, the first of which is September 26.
The former Republican Massachusetts governor will speak to students at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Weld said he’s seen an uptick in donations to the ticket.
The stumble could derail such hopes, and it was widely mocked on social media.
Johnson’s blunder sparked widespread mockery, with a #WhatisAleppo hashtag trending on Twitter.
Some even attributed the flub to Johnson’s acknowledged use of marijuana. Probably 85 percent of the people in the country couldn’t put Aleppo on a map, so I’m not sure the effect of the slip is going to be lasting at all. Later on in the program, show host Joe Scarborough addressed Johnson’s slip one more time. After speaking at a Politico convention in June, he was being directed to a room that was named after Harriet Tubman, the former slave and abolitionist.
Clinton, asked at a news conference about Johnson’s remarks, laughed and quipped, “You can look on the map and find Aleppo”.
“You’re kidding?” the MSNBC interviewer asked.
“You can dress it up in fancy language all day long and say, ‘Hey, you know, I’m responsible for all of this, everything I’ve accomplished, it’s mine, my body, ‘ but the reality is you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for public roads or public schools or public education or making sure that your food is safe and your drugs aren’t killing you and things like that. all the things libertarians oppose”. “I have to get smarter, and that’s just part of the process”.
As for the impact the matter would have on his presidential prospects, Johnson said that would be up to the voters to decide.
Advertisement
Appearing on ABC’s talk show “The View” later, Johnson reacted mildly to suggestions the gaffe would kill his campaign.
