Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson made another jaw-dropping blunder on foreign policy during an MSNBC town hall on Wednesday night, failing to name a single foreign leader.
Moderator Chris Matthews pressed Johnson to identify a foreign leader that he admired, prodding him with examples.
“Any one of the continents, any country. Name one foreign leader that your respect and look up to. Anybody,” Matthews said, as a flustered-looking Johnson sputtered audibly.
Vice Presidential pick Bill Weld tried to interject, but Matthews kept pushing.
“You gotta do this,” he said. “Anywhere. Any continent. Canada, Mexico, Europe over there, Asia, south America, Africa. Any foreign leader that you respect.”
“I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment,” Johnson said eventually, referring to his recent failure to identify the city at the heart of Syria’s refugee crisis in a live interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Johnson tried to explain that gaffe, in which he asked panelist Mike Barnicle “What is Aleppo?”, by claiming he thought Barnicle was referring to an acronym.
On Wednesday, Johnson finally named “the former president of Mexico” as his pick.
“Which one?” Matthews asked.
“I’m having a brain freeze,” Johnson replied.
With Weld’s assistance, Johnson settled on Vicente Fox, Mexico’s president from 2000 to 2006.
Gary Johnson had an “Aleppo moment” after @hardballchris asks who his favorite foreign leader is #JohnsonTownhall https://t.co/nRazpPL0q0
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 28, 2016
