Weld on Aleppo gaffe: ‘It’s quite a moment on television’

He had been hovering around 10 percent before demonstrating on “Morning Joe” that he’s better suited to co-star in the next sequel of “Dumb and Dumber”.

“It worked”, Johnson said in a statement.

If history and the polls are any guide, Gary Johnson will probably not be elected president in November.

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson said Friday he should have known what Aleppo was when asked earlier this week.

But Johnson must also accomplish something that often makes or breaks presidential candidates (think Michael Dukakis): to exhibit the gravitas that persuades Americans he’s competent enough to command America’s military and make life-and-death decisions.

Barnicle: “Aleppo is in Syria”.

Syria’s 2011 pro-democracy uprising, which gradually devolved into civil war, has sparked a refugee crisis across the Middle East and Europe as millions fled their homes for safety.

The confusion over Aleppo was perhaps the first viral moment of Johnson’s campaign.

The New York Times, however, did not appear to know what Aleppo was either, and reported it as the “de facto capital of the Islamic State”, website Moon Of Alabama spotted.

The misstep was a boon for explainers. “I sat down, I didn’t know the context in which the conversation was taking place”.

If you believe that someone who’d wish to become president of these United States ought to have, at minimum, a reasonable understanding of what’s going on in the world today, then you’d not be supporting Donald Trump’s candidacy.

Despite all this, Johnson was unable to answer the question.

“Well, with regard to Syria I do think that it’s a mess”.

Johnson went on to say the United States should “join efforts with Russian Federation to end the conflict in Syria diplomatically” while adding that the conflict was the result of regime change gone badly. A day later, Johnson says he should not be judged by a momentary goof.

“Yes, I understand the dynamics of the conflict in Syria”, he said.

Johnson later said he had been confused by the question, thinking Aleppo was an acronym. I blanked. It happens, and it will happen again during the course of this campaign.

“His fellow MSNBC panelists were agape, as Johnson had just claimed unfamiliarity with a city at the heart of Syria’s ongoing civil war and humanitarian crisis”.

“Not remembering or identifying that that’s Aleppo – guilty”, he said. Do I understand its significance?

Later in the day, Johnson admitted to Bloomberg News’ Mark Halperin that he was “incredibly frustrated” with himself for his slip-up.