MSNBC's "Morning Joe" broadcast footage Friday morning of the Libertarian presidential nominee biting his tongue in an interview this week with Kasie Hunt.

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Johnson told Hunt that if he were on the debate stage with Clinton and Trump, he thought he could pull even with them in the polls.

"And it wouldn't have anything to do with my debate performance either. It would just be because people recognize that there's another choice," he said.

Johnson then added, while biting his tongue to make it difficult to understand him: "I think I could stand up there for the whole debate and not say anything and emerge as the leader."

Hunt remarked Friday that the scene has "never happened to me in an interview before" as others on the "Morning Joe" panel chuckled.

"Morning Joe" was the program where Johnson made his "What is Aleppo?" gaffe earlier this month.

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced this month that he didn't qualify for the first debate Monday night. Johnson is pushing to make the cut for the two remaining debates in October.