Watch: Gary Johnson can't name a single foreign leader he admires, admits to having "an Aleppo moment"

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson couldn’t name a single world leader he admires in a painfully embarrassing exchange during a live MSNBC town hall aired Wednesday night.

Pressed by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews to pick one leader he respected from anywhere in the world, Johnson froze up and said he couldn’t do it. He then admitted to having an “Aleppo moment” — a reference to when Johnson copped to not knowing the Syrian city during an interview on MSNBC.

Here’s the deer-in-the-headlights moment:

When Johnson first deflected the question, Matthews said, "Go ahead: You got to do this. Anywhere. Any continent. Canada, Mexico, Europe, over there, Asia, South America, Africa. Name a foreign leader that you respect."

The exchange continued:

JOHNSON: I guess I'm having an Aleppo moment ... the former president of Mexico.

MATTHEWS: But I'm giving you the whole world.

JOHNSON: I know, I know, I know.

MATTHEWS: But I'm giving you the whole world. Anybody in the world you like. Anybody. Pick any leader.

JOHNSON: The former president of Mexico.

MATTHEWS: No — Which one?

JOHNSON: I'm having a brain..."

At that point, Johnson’s running mate — former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld — intervened and started naming former Mexican presidents like Vicente Fox.

Matthews then posed the initial question to Weld, and Johnson’s No. 2 quickly produced an answer: Weld said he admired German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

As Weld spoke, Johnson’s eyes drifted downward, and he looked at the floor.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via