As Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump prepare to square off in a televised debate later this month, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson is hoping to attract voters dissatisfied with both parties by running for president on the Libertarian Party line.

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson

Hopes to get enough support in the polls to make it to the first presidential debate

FLORIDA DECIDES COVERAGE: Latest headlines | How to vote in Florida

Sister station NY1 interviewed Johnson on Friday.

Among the questions asked: Could Johnson explain the high-profile gaffe he made on national television on Thursday?

During an MSNBC interview, when asked what he would do about the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, Syria, Johnson blanked on the name of the city and had to be reminded about why it's important.

A day later, Johnson says he should not be judged by a momentary goof.

"You're going to make a mistake, and I did, and I completely own up to it," Johnson said. "I sat down, I didn't know the context in which the conversation was taking place.

"And when I heard the question "Aleppo," I'm thinking in terms of acronym - what does that stand for? American Latin going through my mind. OK, Aleppo. But I think more important is understanding the policies that underly Syria right now."

During the interview, Johnson also talked at length about the Libertarian philosophy of dialing back American troop commitments around the world.

"We inject ourselves in situations that are horrible," Johnson said. "But we reverse the roles and the regime we put in or support end up with atrocities that are the same or worse at the end of the day. And you can't make this stuff up and in my lifetime I can't think of one single instance where we have supported regime change where it's resulted in a positive and not a negative."

Additionally, he got into his belief that medicinal and recreational marijuana should be fully legalized.

Johnson was also asked about whether that stance presented a conflict of interest, as he once ran and still owns stock in a company that markets marijuana products.

"I've never viewed this from a standpoint of financial advantage and I never believed I would have the opportunity to serve as the CEO of a publicly traded company, but was given that opportunity and I jumped on it," Johnson said.

Johnson's hoping to get to 15 percent in the polls in order to participate in the first presidential debate later this month.

The rest of the interview can be viewed on the NY1 News website.

