Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson choked Wednesday evening during a town hall event hosted by MSNBC, and he drew a blank when asked to name a single foreign leader that he admired.
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews handed him the straightforward question, “Who is your favorite foreign leader?”
A bewildered-looking Johnson repeated the question, “Who is my favorite —?”
“Name one foreign leader that you respect, look up to. Anybody,” Matthews continued.
Johnson sighed as his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, offered the late Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres as a possible candidate.
“You got to do this,” Matthews persisted, “anywhere. Any continent. Canada, Mexico, Europe over there, Asia, South America, Africa … Name a foreign leader that you respect.”
A defeated Johnson answered finally, “I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment.”
The candidate’s remark is a reference to when he drew a blank earlier this month when he was asked to comment on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the embattled Syrian city.
On Wednesday, Matthews was determined to get Johnson to name a single world leader.
“Anybody in the world you like. Anybody. Pick any leader,” the MSNBC host said.
Johnson replied vaguely, “The former president of Mexico.”
“Which one?” Matthews asked.
“I’m having a brain, I’m having a brain –,” Johnson started to say.
“Fox?” Weld offered, referring to former Mexican President Vicente Fox.
“Fox!” Johnson confirmed.
Weld, for his part, named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as his favorite foreign leaders.
