Brain freeze? Gary Johnson can’t name favorite world leader
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson spoke during a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa on Sept. 3.
WASHINGTON » Call it a brain freeze or another “Aleppo moment,” but Gary Johnson has stumbled again in his quixotic presidential campaign.
The third-party candidate, in a television appearance Wednesday, was unable to produce the name of a single foreign leader he respected. Prodded to come up with something, he finally settled on a former president of Mexico — but couldn’t recall his name.
“I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment,” Johnson said, referencing an episode earlier this month in which he was ridiculed when he came up blank when questioned about the besieged city that has become a focal point of Syria’s civil war.
Johnson’s latest misstep played out during an extraordinary and awkward 50 seconds of live television on MSNBC, where Johnson and running mate William Weld were appearing in a town hall. Host Chris Matthews ticked through a list of regions, hoping to jog the Libertarian Party candidate’s memories, but to no avail.
“You’ve got to do this,” Matthews said. “Anywhere, any continent: Canada, Mexico, Europe, over there, Asia, South America, Africa. Name a foreign leader that you respect.”
Johnson hung his head slightly — “I’m having a brain freeze” — before Weld came to his rescue, offering the names of three former Mexican presidents. Johnson settled quickly on Vicente Fox, calling him “terrific” before Weld named his own favorite foreign leader: German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
As the slip-up ricocheted on social media, Johnson took to Twitter on Thursday in an apparent attempt to poke a bit of fun at himself.
“It’s been almost 24 hours,” Johnson wrote, “and I still can’t come up with a foreign leader I look up to.”
Johnson’s candidacy has attracted interest from members of both major parties who say they’re dismayed about their choices this year of Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton. Still, Johnson has been polling in the single digits — most voters say they don’t know who he is — and his struggles on foreign policy haven’t helped his image.
22 responses to “Brain freeze? Gary Johnson can’t name favorite world leader”
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idiot.
With his knowledge of foreign affairs and not even knowing what Aleppo is, this just shows Gary doesn’t give a rip about foreign policy or the world in general. He also said he doesn’t care about global warming because the sun is eventually going to explode anyway. Is this the kind of president you want running the greatest nation in the free world? Do we really want somebody in the White House who is going to smoke pot in order to free his mind before making important decision that will affect the entire world for decades to come?
Well……….if you don’t want Clinton or Trump (the Devil or the Devil)…….who you gonna vote for?
Write in on your ballot for POTUS… Roseann Barr (from da Big Island of Hawaii) OR Evan McMullin (former CIA agent and BYU-Provo Utah graduate) (google their names for more info).
if you no vote, then don’t grumble…
If you ARE a Libertarian then there is NO national leader you regard highly or respect much.
Too much smoking.
brain freeze, sounds like the AP SA have most of the same problem as he has.
printing lies and half truths.
I’m replacing my “senior moment” comments with “Johnson moment”. Two untrustworthy candidates and one comedian.
Good one!
At least he didn’t say Putin or Duterte.
Johnson is a dufus. He is a trojan horse candidate aimed at stopping Trump.
His Vice President candidate tried to help him. The guy is joke like the Chump.
This saddens me. Now I am stuck with a liar or a megalomaniac 🙁
Well, I think you’d have to consider the ramifications of having someone in charge you can trust or someone you can’t. I’d rather have a president that, once completely advised about a situation, would proceed with a plan we could all support, as opposed to one that already knows the information, but automatically has half of us at odds with his decision. It is unfortunate than Gary isn’t more up to speed with foreign events, and no doubt many of these events can significantly affect us, but his focus is more on working with what’s wrong here at home. This snafu will cost him, and he may have lost whatever slim chance he had, but the thought of Hillary or Trump still forces me to support him.
Precisely, the thought of Hillary or Trump scares the daylight out of me. At least what you see and hear is what you get. No frills and cover up, that’s Mr. Johnson!
Just read this, “Asking a Libertarian about foreign leaders is like asking a vegan how they want their steak cooked”. Sort of a “deer in the headlights” moment..
Done, its over, the kitchen was way too hot, when you pull a Rick Perry…..
I also can’t think of a single foreign leader that I respect. I do respect Gary Johnson, and I still intend to vote for him.
Really, you can’t think of Mandela, Thatcher, Churchill or even Sadat…….wow, kinda sad!
Simplistic redirect, the question involved current leadership. You’ve enough ammunition, stretching is unnecessary..
None of them really impress me.
Might as well just take your ballot, crumple it and throw it on the ground.