'What is Aleppo?': Facepalm moment for Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson as he admits he's never heard of Syrian refugee-crisis city

[superbeets]

[h=1]'What is Aleppo?': Facepalm moment for Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson as he admits he's never heard of Syrian refugee-crisis city[/h]

• Johnson appeared on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' on Thursday and was asked what he would do 'about Aleppo' if he were president
• The former New mexico governor stared into space, finally asking: 'And what is Aleppo?'
• Political panelist Mike Barnicle deadpanned: 'You're kidding'
• Johnson said Syria's civil war is 'a mess' and said a diplomatic partnership with Russia was the best way to end it

By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 13:23, 8 September 2016 | UPDATED: 16:27, 8 September 2016

 

[superbeets]

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson got a mortifying education about the Middle East on Thursday morning when a 'Morning Joe' political panelist asked him about the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico, stared ahead silently but his deer-in-headlights expression spoke volumes.
'And what is Aleppo?' he finally asked.
'You're kidding,' MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle deadpanned
'No,' came a reply from Johnson, who claimed later that he initially thought 'Aleppo' was an acronym and couldn't place its meaning immediately.

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THIRD-PARTY FAIL: Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson stared into space when an MSNBC political panelist asked him what he would do about Aleppo, without telling him what it was ahead of time

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'YOU'RE KIDDING': Journalist Mike Barnicle couldn't believe a presidential candidate didn't know the significance of Aleppo, the epicenter of the Syrian refugee crisis

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'WHAT IS ALEPPO?' An elderly Syrian man and a child walk through a field of debris in what was once a residential neighborhood after a government-dropped barrel bomb hit it in 2014

Barnicle had asked Johnson what he would do about Aleppo if he were elected, but didn't offer any context that might help the long-shot candidate decipher what was being asked.
Eventually, he needed some help.
'Aleppo is in Syria. It's the epicenter of the refugee crisis,' Barnicle offered.
'Okay, got it. Got it,' Johnson said.
In a hallway interview with Bloomberg Politics following his cringe-worthy 'Morning Joe' moment,' Johnson said he was 'incredibly frustrated with myself.'
'I have to get smarter,' he said. 'That's just part of the process.'

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'WHAT IS ALEPPO?' This photo from Aug. 31 shows children in the Syrian city swimming in a hole made by a missile attack



In a statement, the Libertarian Party nominee said: 'This morning, I began my day by setting aside any doubt that I'm human.'
'Yes, I understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict – I talk about them every day. But hit with "What about Aleppo?", I immediately was thinking about an acronym, not the Syrian conflict.'
'I blanked,' Johnson added. 'It happens, and it will happen again during the course of this campaign.'
He also suggested that he would rely on aides and advisers to keep him current on world affairs, if he should win the White House.
'As Governor, there were many things I didn't know off the top of my head. But I succeeded by surrounding myself with the right people, getting to the bottom of important issues, and making principled decisions. It worked,' he said.
Hillary Clinton chuckled about Johnson's gaffe a few hours later during a brief media availability on an upstate New York airplane tarmac.
'Well, you can look on the map and find Aleppo!' she said.

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'WHAT IS ALEPPO?' This mid-August image of a five-year-old boy in Aleppo shows him shell-shocked after he was pulled out of a building's rubble following a Syrian government airstrike

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'WHAT IS ALEPPO?' Soldiers belonging to the Free Syrian Army are seen during an anti-ISIS operation last week

Johnson has been polling in the high single-digits in most national election surveys but a few polls have him reaching as high as 12 per cent.
He is running with former Massachusetts governor William Weld.
Johnson finally pronounced Syria's protracted and violent civil war 'a mess.'
'And I think the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that at an end,' he said.
'But when we've aligned ourselves with, when we've supported the opposition, the Free Syrian Army – the Free Syrian Army is also coupled with the Islamists – and then the fact that we're also supporting the Kurds, and this is, it's just a mess.'
'And this is the result of regime change that we end up supporting and, inevitably, these regime changes have led to a less safe world.'

 

[superbeets]

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'DEPRESSING

Barnicle's full question was: 'What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo?'
MSNBC co-host Joe Scarborough was flabbergasted at the answer and asked Johnson if he believed '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?'
Johnson tried to salvage a rapidly deteriorating situation.
'I do understand Aleppo and I understand the crisis that is going on,' he said. 'But when we involve ourselves militarily, when we involve ourselves in these humanitarian issues, issues, we end up with a situation that in most cases is not better, and in many cases ends up being worse.'
'And we find ourselves always – politicians are up against the wall, and ask what to do about these things, and this is why we end up committing military force in areas that, like I say, at the end of the day have an unintended consequence of making things worse.'

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MAYBE NOT: 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said Wednesday on Twitter that Johnson should have a more visible role in the election

'Boy, that’s depressing,' Scarborough said later.
'It is staggering that somebody would run for President of the United States, get 14 per cent, 15 per cent in polls, and be so ignorant on foreign policy they would ask the question "what is Aleppo?" on national television.'
'I was stunned,' Barnicle offered. 'It's been on the front page of every newspaper for months.'
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tweeted on Wednesday that Johnson and his running mate should be given greater visibility during the final months of the election season.
'I hope voters get to see former GOP Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld on the debate stages this fall,' he wrote on Twitter, his first message on the social media platform in two months.

 

[SheriffJoe]

JOHNSON ON THE ISSUES

• Pro legalized drugs
• Pro legalized prostitution
• Pro amnesty for illegal aliens
• Pro open borders
• Pro jihad resettlement in the USA
• Pro free trade with communist regimes
• Pro unrestricted abortion
• Pro affirmative action
• Pro same-sex marriage
• Pro separation of church and state
• Soft on crime
• Anti- death penalty for violent offenders
• Anti-military
• Anti-national security
• Pro isolationism

 

[hehateme82]

• No legalization of heroin, but apply harm reduction. (Jun 2016)
• Marijuana has fewer side-effects than alcohol: no hangover. (Apr 2016)
• States are finally seeing the failure of the War on Drugs. (Jan 2016)
• Why do we tell adults what they can put in their bodies? (Jan 2016)
• People 95% positive on legalizing; incumbents 100% negative. (Aug 2012)
• Marijuana is safer than alcohol. (Aug 2012)
• 75% of border violence with Mexico is due to drugs. (Jun 2011)
• Marijuana is safer than alcohol. (Jun 2011)
• Legalize marijuana instead of 1.8 million arrests and $70B. (May 2011)

 

[hehateme82]

• Stay in the U.N., but stay out of foreign interventions. (May 2016)
• Take our share of Syrian refugees; not too many but not zero. (Nov 2015)
• Stop replacing bad guys with slightly-less-bad guys. (Nov 2015)
• America at peace with the world; avoid foreign entanglements. (Jun 2014)
• U.S. in Ukraine is like Russia intervening in Puerto Rico. (May 2014)
• It is far past time to divorce Pakistan. (Oct 2012)
• We can no longer afford to shell out billions in foreign aid. (Feb 2012)
• No foreign aid spending unless it protects U.S. interests. (Nov 2011)
• Flights to Cuba ok; trade promotes friendship. (Sep 2011)
• Act in US self-interest, but wary of unintended consequences. (Aug 2011)

 

[hehateme82]

Should the United States Continue the War on Drugs?

"How is it that the United States, the land of the free, has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world?

The answer is simple: Over time, the politicians have 'criminalized' far too many aspects of people's personal lives. The failed War on Drugs is, of course, the greatest example. Well over 100 million Americans have, at one time or another, used marijuana. Yet, today, simple possession and use of marijuana remains a crime — despite the fact that a majority of Americans now favor its legalization."

 

[hehateme82]

Should Churches (Defined as Churches, Temples, Mosques, Synagogues, etc.) Remain Tax-Exempt?

"As with almost all aspects of the current tax code, the granting of exemptions, credits, etc., to specific groups is a recipe for favoritism and government manipulation. That is one of the primary reasons I advocate a simple federal consumption tax to replace all income taxes - and eliminate all tax subsidies, credits and exemptions."

 

[Dave007inVegas]

• Stay in the U.N., but stay out of foreign interventions. (May 2016)
• Take our share of Syrian refugees; not too many but not zero. (Nov 2015)
• Stop replacing bad guys with slightly-less-bad guys. (Nov 2015)
• America at peace with the world; avoid foreign entanglements. (Jun 2014)
• U.S. in Ukraine is like Russia intervening in Puerto Rico. (May 2014)
• It is far past time to divorce Pakistan. (Oct 2012)
• We can no longer afford to shell out billions in foreign aid. (Feb 2012)
• No foreign aid spending unless it protects U.S. interests. (Nov 2011)
• Flights to Cuba ok; trade promotes friendship. (Sep 2011)
• Act in US self-interest, but wary of unintended consequences. (Aug 2011)

No wonder Mantis will vote for him.

 

[SheriffJoe]

"Stay in the U.N. but stay out of foreign interventions"

face)(*^%

 

[hehateme82]

But Joe, he believes in returning to gold standard. That's your kind of crazy thinking there right?

 

[hehateme82]

Don't have to be with your candidate on every issue, unless you're a sheep to a party.

 

[hehateme82]

No wonder Mantis will vote for him.

I guess let's just build a wall and call it day, eh?

 

[ScottL]

Johnson probably the least likely to get in the way of Americans laying 11/0 anywhere in the world. But geez what a moron. This is the putz SPAMMY would be voting for if he wasn't already voting for Hillary

 

[SheriffJoe]

But Joe, he believes in returning to gold standard. That's your kind of crazy thinking there right?

Returning to a gold standard is crazy thinking?

 

[Albatross]

He looked like a deer in headlights and at that moment he saw his pathetic candidacy come crashing down. The look on his face was classic.

 

[hehateme82]

Returning to a gold standard is crazy thinking?

Looks like you found your candidate then

 

[Dave007inVegas]

I guess let's just build a wall and call it day, eh?

That's fairly decisive. Not much wiggle room. Trump has said more on the subject, what's Johnson's stance besides take in some but not to many?

 

[hehateme82]

I don't agree with Johnson or Trump on foreign or immigration policy.

 

[hehateme82]

The wall is impossible and I don't think we should take any Syrian refugees.