Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson struggled to answer a question about the Syrian civil war on Thursday, and whiffed on live TV when asked to talk about the situation in Aleppo, Syria.
Asked about what he would do about Aleppo on MSNBC, a city in Syria at the heart of the conflict, Johnson responded, “And what is Aleppo?”
“You’re kidding,” host Mike Barnicle said.
“No,” Johnson said.
“Aleppo is in Syria. It’s the epicenter of the refugee crisis—” Barnicle responded.
“OK, got it, got it,” Johnson answered.
.@mikebarnicle: What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo? @GovGaryJohnson: And what is Aleppo? https://t.co/ZbqO5RAEsk
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) September 8, 2016
The Libertarian nominee went on to deliver an answer about Syria, but the MSNBC hosts didn’t let up on his admission that he didn’t know what Aleppo is.
“Do you really think that foreign policy is so insignificant that somebody running for president of the United States shouldn’t even know what Aleppo is, where Aleppo is, why Aleppo is so important?” asked Joe Scarborough.
“Well no, I do understand Aleppo and I understand the crisis that is going on,” Johnson replied.
Mark Halperin, an MSNBC guest, followed Johnson in the hallway after the on-air interview and peppered him with additional questions about the answer. The video was then played on an iPhone by MSNBC.
“Is it a name you know, a town you know?” Halperin asked in the hallway. “This is going to be a big deal, like this is the first big flap of a campaign that’s been doing pretty well, right? It’s going to be a big flap, I promise you. It already is.”
“I’m incredibly frustrated with myself,” Johnson answered.
“But how do you feel about it, should it be a big flap?” Halperin interjected.
“Sure, it should,” Johnson said. “Absolutely.”
