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Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson drew a blank during a live interview on MSNBC this morning when asked what he would do to address the situation in Aleppo, perhaps the most devastated city in the five-year civil war in Syria.

"What is Aleppo?" Johnson replied when asked how he would address the crisis there.

"You're kidding," journalist Mike Barnicle said.

"No," Johnson said.

Barnicle then explained that he was talking about the Syrian conflict, and Johnson quickly found his footing and explained what he believes should be done about Syria, which he called "a mess."

"I think the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia," Johnson said, "to diplomatically bring that to an end. But when we align ourselves with when we've supported the opposition of the Free Syrian Army the Free Syrian Army is also coupled with the Islamists and then the fact that we're also supporting the Kurds, and this is, it's just a mess. And that this is the result of regime change that we end up supporting and, inevitably, these regime changes have led to a less safe world."

"I'm incredibly frustrated with myself," Johnson later said, adding that he "feels horrible" and has to "get smarter."

Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, released an official statement explaining why he was initially confused by the Aleppo question.

"This morning, I began my day by setting aside any doubt that I'm human. Yes, I understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict I talk about them every day," he said in the statement. "But hit with 'What about Aleppo?' I immediately was thinking about an acronym, not the Syrian conflict. I blanked. It happens, and it will happen again during the course of this campaign."

He continued, "Can I name every city in Syria? No. Should I have identified Aleppo? Yes. Do I understand its significance? Yes. As governor, there were many things I didn't know off the top of my head. But I succeeded by surrounding myself with the right people, getting to the bottom of important issues and making principled decisions. It worked. That is what a president must do."

Speaking on ABC's "The View" hours after his MSNBC interview, Johnson said there's "no excuse" for his lapse on Aleppo while reiterating that he thought the question was referring to an acronym.

Co-host Joy Behar told him she thinks the gaffe is disqualifying, to which he replied simply, "Fair enough, fair enough."

"I guess people will have to make that judgment," he continued. "For those that believe this is a disqualifier, so be it. Absolutely, it's fair game. I'm running for president of the United States, and hey, it's how you deal with adversity that ultimately determines success."

Excerpt from:
Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson Asks 'What Is ...

Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld are bashing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump just weeks ahead of the first debate, questioning why any member of the GOP would vote for the billionaire in a Wednesday interview with CBS This Morning.

When asked whether Weld -- a former Republican governor of Massachusetts -- has permanently left the Republican party, the Libertarian vice presidential nominee responded: Yes, I have and I told the Libertarians I would never return.

Weld added a caveat: It doesnt mean Im not friendly, but it means I get to ask out loud: Why would any Republican vote for Donald Trump? Hes anti-free trade, hes pro-entitlements,hes terrible on the budgets, hes unreliable.

The Libertarian candidates also slammed Trump on his immigration policies and for parroting a canard that all undocumented immigrants would like apath to legal U.S. citizenship.

Theres a reason why there are 11 million undocumented workers in this country-- its that its impossible to get across the border legally, said Johnson, a former New Mexico governor. He later proposed to make it easier for those in the country illegally to get a work visa, as long as theyve been law abiding get them in the system and out of the shadows.

Its a labor force issue, Weld added. But Mr. Trump has planted this canard in the public consciousness that all eleven million undocumented workers are, you know, champing at the bit to become citizens. Thats just not true.

The two also talked tax policy, including their proposals to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and instead institute a federal consumption tax.

If I could waive a magic wand, I would eliminate income tax, I would eliminate corporate tax and replace it with one federal consumption tax, Johnson said.

Defending the regressive nature of a consumption tax, he continued: The way that the fair tax deals with with it being regressive, is that it issues everybody in country a prebate check of 200 dollars a month which allow everyone to pay the consumption tax up to the point of the poverty level.

With the first presidential debate fast approaching, the Libertarian ticket also discussed their chances of garnering enough national support to earn a spot on the debate stage.

It isnt game over if were not in the first debate, Johnson said. But if were not in the debates, it is game over. I mean, theres no way that you can win the presidential race without being in the debates.

If were in the presidential debates, 100 percent of people will know who we are and we think we have the chance to run the table, he added, pointing to polls in states that show their voter support in double digits.

We think we have winning arguments, Weld said. You know, were fiscally responsible, were socially inclusive, that doesnt describe either of the other parties. No one would accuse the Democrats of being fiscally responsible when it comes to the budget...and the Republicans said, you know they made their platform even meaner than it was before their convention to be exclusionary towards certain groups.

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Libertarian ticket trashes Donald Trump in bid for support ...

"Look, we should embrace immigration," Johnson said Wednesday during an appearance on CNN's "New Day." "These are really hard-working people that are taking jobs that U.S. citizens don't want."

The former governor of New Mexico was dismissive of recent signals that the Republican nominee could moderate some of his immigration proposals, including his previous call to round up and deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.

"He still says he wants to build a wall across the border," Johnson said of Trump. "And, really, he's not going to deport all 11 million. He's going to keep some."

Trump's hard-line position on the issue of immigration has animated his campaign more than any other, but that once-resolute stance has turned fuzzy this week.

Kellyanne Conway, Trump's newly appointed campaign manager, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that the candidate might back off from his support of a deportation force.

But appearing on Fox News on Monday, Trump stood by his support of mass deportation, saying there are "a lot of bad people that have to get of this country."

"They're going to be out of here so fast, your head will spin," Trump said.

The following day, in a different interview on Fox News, Trump said "there could certainly be a softening (on immigration) because we're not looking to hurt people."

Trump wasn't the only candidate who drew scrutiny from Johnson on Wednesday. Addressing the report that Hillary Clinton met with donors to the Clinton Foundation during her time as secretary of state, Johnson said there is an "implication" of a "pay-to-play" arrangement.

But he said that no legal lines were crossed.

"Nobody's going to get prosecuted for this because that's also the nature of this," Johnson said.

Johnson is jockeying to get on the debate stage with Trump and Clinton this fall. In order to qualify, he must eclipse 15% in an average of five different polls. Johnson has yet to hit that threshold in any major national poll, but he said Monday he's "kind of optimistic" about his chances of qualifying.

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Libertarian Gary Johnson: 'We should embrace immigration ...

"We're drawing pretty much equally from both sides," he told CNN's Don Lemon on "CNN Tonight." "I see that going all the way to the election."

On Wednesday, CNN hosted a town hall with Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her running mate, Ajamu Baraka. Stein defended her third-party candidacy against the logic that a vote for her would be a waste and would ultimately help elect Donald Trump.

"The unique thing about the Green Party is that we are the one national party that is not corrupted by corporate money, by lobbyist money or by Super PACs," Stein said. "We have the unique ability to actually stand up for what it is that the American people want, what everyday people want."

Johnson told Lemon that he's not frustrated with the election cycle. Johnson is polling in the high single digits, which is shy of the 15% needed to appear on the presidential debate stages this fall.

"I'm really optimistic that we will be in the debates," Johnson said. "As crazy as this campaign season is, I might be the next president of the United States," Johnson joked.

The Libertarian candidate boasted that he and his running mate former Governor of Massachusetts William Weld is the only third-party campaign that will be on the ballot in all 50 states.

"A wasted vote is voting for somebody that you don't believe in," Johnson said. "If you don't vote your conscience, shame on you. I think maybe six weeks from now you'll be talking about, is voting for Trump a wasted vote? Is voting for Clinton a wasted vote, given that Gary Johnson has risen so far, so fast."

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Gary Johnson: Libertarian and Green Party do not cancel ...

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