Gary Johnson: ‘What is Aleppo?’

Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson doesn’t seem to know what Aleppo is.

Aleppo, a war-ravaged city in Syria, has turned into a prime example of the horror and violence continuing to plague the country’s people as the governments of several countries continue to wage military assaults in the Syrian civil war. More than a quarter of a million Syrians have died in the conflict since it started in 2011. In August, the image of a 3-year-old boy, Omran Daqneesh, seated in the back of an ambulance and covered in blood and dust sent fresh shock waves through the global community.

Johnson didn’t initially recognize Aleppo on Thursday during an interview withMSNBC’s Mike Barnicle.

“And what is Aleppo?” Johnson asked.

“You’re kidding,” Barnicle said.

“No,” Johnson responded.

Once Barnicle explained, Johnson seemed to recall the city and violence in Syria. He gave his stance on how the United States, Russia and the forces in Syria should work to end the conflict.

“With regard to Syria, um, I do think that it’s a mess,” Johnson said. “I think that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that at an end.”

“What is Aleppo” started trending on Twitter after Johnson’s interview aired, with users blasting him for the misstep.