Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson on Tuesday was stoic about his "Aleppo Day" gaffe last week, when he drew a blank on a question about the epicenter of the Syrian civil war, but took pains to point out that he understands the Syrian issue.
"An Aleppo Day was going to happen, with 100 percent, certainly an Aleppo Day was going to happen before the end of this campaign," the former New Mexico governor told Fox Business Networks' Maria Bartiromo on her early morning talk show.
"There will be another Aleppo Day."
Last week, Johnson went from being a third-party nominee to the topic of discussion, ridicule, and a viral hashtag after he answered a question from political commentator Mike Barnicle about his opinion on the Syrian city with the words "What is Aleppo?"
That same day, he took ownership for the mistake, telling a show later in the day that he may have mistaken the city's name for an acronym, and on Tuesday, he showed he's been doing more work on the issue, giving a lengthy answer explaining the various struggles going on between the parties in that country.
"I think I am well aware of the situation, and just how muddied it is," Johnson said. "For weeks I have been talking about, how the only solution to this is joining hands with Russia, diplomatically to bring this to an end, I certainly hope the cease-fire sticks and kudos to [Secretary of State John] Kerry at least about initiating what appears to turn out okay."
Bartiromo replied that most Americans would not know what Aleppo is, but Johnson replied that "90 percent of American is not running for president," and the answer was something he should have known.
Meanwhile, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's diagnosis of pneumonia over the weekend has brought a many questions about her health, and Johnson said Tuesday his own health is great.
"I'm in the 1 percent of 1 percent when it comes to health," said Johnson. "That means I do believe I'm like one in 1,000, but I've dedicated my life to health and fitness."
But running for president is physically demanding, said Johnson. "I mean talking about burning the candle at both ends," he said. "I am concerned for her, I think she probably should take a few more days off, I mean, pneumonia is something very serious."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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