Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, admitting he was having an "Aleppo moment," drew a blank Wednesday night during an MSNBC town hall when he was asked who his favorite foreign leader is in a gaffe coming during an event he'd called a "consolation prize" he was given for being left out of both the presidential debate and a network Commander in Chief Forum.
"It was put to us that, look, you weren't in this initial program," Johnson told The Washington Post last week. "Here's what we'd like to offer in lieu of being with the two major-party candidates. And I said, 'An hour of prime time Chris Matthews? I'll take it.'"
But, reports the Post, the evening soured when Matthews asked him to name a foreign leader from "anywhere in the continents . . . any country. Name one foreign leader that you look up to."
Running mate William Weld attempted to help, saying he's "with Shimon Peres," the Israeli leader who died early Wednesday. Matthews, though, pushed for a living world leader, from "any continent. Canada, Mexico?"
"I guess I'm having an Aleppo moment," Johnson replied, before settling on "the former president of Mexico."
But he couldn't name which one, telling Matthews he was "having a brain freeze."
Weld then began naming the country's former presidents, "Fox? Zedillo? Calderon?" and Johnson finally settled on Fox, calling him "terrific."
However, Johnson couldn't remember Vicente Fox's full name, even though the nominee had been been governor of neighboring New Mexico from 1995 to 2003. Further, the former Mexican leader has been in the news often in recent months with his mockery and opposition to GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Johnson, after the town hall, tweeted that it would have been better to ask why the "Hillary mouthpieces" are worried about his campaign:
Thursday morning, MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program, where Johnson had had his initial "Aleppo moment" by drawing a blank when he was asked about the war torn Syrian city, ridiculed Johnson for his failure the night before to name a single foreign leader.
"How does somebody think they're going to run for president and be this ignorant, completely ignorant of just the most basic things?" show host Joe Scarborough said. "My children could answer those questions . . . Does he not read newspapers? Does he not listen to the radio? You can smoke pot and listen to the radio at the same time."
Co-host Willie Geist said he knows Johnson agrees with legalizing marijuana, but pointed out that he'd told USA Today earlier this year that "he had not smoked weed for seven weeks and would not smoke during the campaign or when he's president . . . He's saying he's not smoking weed. That excuse goes out the window.
"The more serious point is there are enough people in this country who are so dissatisfied with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that are crying out for somewhere else to go. They would love not to vote for either of those candidates, but can you vote for him? He would be the commander in chief and he can't name a foreign leader."
The show noted that Johnson's latest gaffe comes on the heels of an interview with NBC's Kasie Hunt, showing a video of the former New Mexico governor sticking his tongue out while talking to her about debating the top two candidates.
However, it was noted that Johnson, as a "protest" candidate, is drawing votes away from both Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and many voters who choose him may not care about his gaffes.