Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is far from the first candidate ever to be stumped by a question, but he’s the most recent, thanks to a ‘gotcha question’ from Mike Barnicle about Aleppo. While some people are willing to guess that Aleppo is a type of animal, a person, or perhaps a disease, we can at least give Johnson credit for admitting his gap of knowledge, and learning about the embattled Syrian city.
The twitter-sphere erupted instantly with #WhatIsAleppo. While many tweets were takes on Jeopardy, Johnson may find comfort from Austin Petersen @AP4LP, who tweeted; “Donald Trump probably wouldn’t know the difference between Aleppo and Alpo.”
Deny it Mike Barnicle, you have work to do!
To Jeannie Moos, the moment is a bit reminiscent of other candidates who’ve been caught off-guard. Gotcha questions had frequent flier miles in Sarah Palin’s orbit. And we’re reminded that (then) Governor George Bush bluntly cut off any chance to be caught off-guard by placing the onus squarely back on the interviewer.
I watched the interview, astounded that Johnson – like Howard Dean made one career-ending mistake, when Donald Trump says numerous truly outrageous things daily. He exhibits extraordinary ignorance, disregards truth entirely and proves an easy target for those who would laugh at this country – yet his campaign barrels on. What gives?!
The American voter apparently finds Trump’s blatant dishonesty refreshing.