Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson said he can’t pick a favorite foreign leader because he is a “real skeptic” of politicians.
“I still can’t do that,” said Johnson on CNN Tuesday because he doesn’t want to be expected to defend a foreign leader “against things that I am not even aware of.” He added if his refusal disqualifies him to run for president “so be it.”
Johnson said his cynicism is the result of entering domestic politics only to realize elected officials “are all about getting elected and they are not a lot about the issues.” He said they are “a lot of empty suits that I hold up on pedestals.”
Johnson was unable to identify a foreign elected official he admires during an MSNBC appearance last week, and joked that, “I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment.” The Libertarian candidate was mocked by Democrat Hillary Clinton last month after he failed to identify the city at the center of the Syrian civil war.
Johnson admitted his mistake, something he claims neither major party candidates have done yet.
“By admitting mistakes you can move forward … but we’ve got Trump and Clinton. Neither of them will admit mistakes,” he said.
Johnson said he doesn’t see why being able to identify a foreign leader and geographic locations makes a person more qualified to handle the situation in Syria.
“We’re involved in a civil war where hundreds of thousands of innocent people have died and because we are involved in both sides of this crossfire we have to take responsibility for a lot of those people that have died,” said Johnson. “But I guess because you can dot the I’s and cross the T’s on foreign leaders and geographic locations that now somehow you’re qualified to put us in that situation? Hey, if that’s the case … I guess I wasn’t meant to be president.”
