Gary Johnson explains Aleppo flub: ‘I blanked’

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson said he "blanked" when he couldn't identify the Syrian city of Aleppo in an interview on MSNBC.

"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," Johnson said in a statement to POLITICO. "But hit with 'What about Aleppo?' I immediately was thinking about an acronym, not the Syrian conflict. I blanked. It happens, and it will happen again during the course of this campaign.


"Can I name every city in Syria? No. Should I have identified Aleppo? Yes. Do I understand its significance? Yes."

Johnson was asked by MSNBC's Mike Barnicle "What would you do if you were elected about Aleppo?" he responded "And what is Aleppo?" The comment raised eyebrows among the MSNBC panelists, as it suggested a lack of familiarity with a pressing international conflict: Syria's ongoing civil war.

"You’re kidding," Barnicle said.

After the interview Johnson said he was frustrated with his own response, and his campaign said it was a hiccup.

"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," Johnson continued in his statement. "That is what a President must do.

"That would begin, clearly, with daily security briefings that, to me, will be fundamental to the job of being President."