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Gary Johnson Couldn’t Name Single Foreign Leader During Town Hall

HeadlineSep 29, 2016

In more news from the campaign trail, Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson stumbled during a town hall interview on MSNBC Wednesday night, when host Chris Matthews asked him to name his favorite foreign leader—and Johnson couldn’t name a single one. Instead, he said he was having an “Aleppo moment”—referring to an earlier interview when he was asked about what he would do to stop the devastating bombing against the major Syrian city, and he responded by asking, “What is Aleppo?” This is Johnson on Wednesday.

Chris Matthews: “Who’s your favorite foreign leader?”

Gary Johnson: “Who’s my favorite—”

Chris Matthews: “Any. Just name anywhere in the—any one of the continents, any country. Name one foreign leader that you respect and look up to. Anybody.”

William Weld: “Mine was Shimon Peres.”

Chris Matthews: “No, no, OK. I’m talking about living. Go ahead. You’ve got to do this. Anywhere. Any continent. Canada. Mexico. Europe, over there. Asia. South America. Africa. Name a foreign leader that you respect.”

Gary Johnson: “I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment in the former—former president of Mexico.”

Chris Matthews: “But I’m giving you the whole world!”

Gary Johnson: “I know. I know. I know. I know.”

Chris Matthews: “Anybody in the world you like. Anybody. Pick any leader.”

Gary Johnson: “The former president of Mexico.”

Chris Matthews: “Now—which one?”

Gary Johnson: “I’m having a brain—I’m having a brainfreeze.”

Chris Matthews: “Well, name anybody.”

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