The former two-term New Mexico governor made headlines recently because he did not know what “Aleppo” was.
During Wednesday’s town hall TV event on MSNBC, Johnson shut down when asked about his favorite world leader, staring blankly and awkwardly, without response.
“In any of one of the continents in any country, name one foreign leader that you respect, that you look up to,” Chris Matthews asked again. “[Y]ou gotta do this. Anywhere, any continent. Canada, Mexico, Europe over there, Asia, South America, Africa — name a foreign leader that you respect.”
“I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment in the [name of the] former president of Mexico,” Johnson responded.
Matthews then pressed Johnson to name which former Mexican president he admired, but Johnson remained unable to answer. His vice presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, then chimed in to help him name Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Green Party nominee Jill Stein attempted to troll Johnson on Twitter, but she did not name any world leaders either. She tweeted, “here are a few of my favorite leaders,” then listed Jeremy Corbyn, João Stédile, and Elizabeth May.
— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) September 29, 2016
“May, Stédile, and Corbyn, however, aren't technically world leaders, as none holds a top position in their country's government. May is a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Stédile is an economist and member of Brazil's Landless Rural Workers Movement, which he helped found. Corbyn is the leader of the Labour Party in Britain,” Politico noted.
On Thursday, Johnson tweeted, “it’s been almost 24 hours… and I still can’t come up with a foreign leader I look up to.”
— Gov. Gary Johnson (@GovGaryJohnson) September 29, 2016
