Gary Johnson defends his 'Aleppo moment' by saying you can't start wars with countries you can't find

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 4 October 2016

Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson has figured out a foolproof plan to keep America out of foreign wars: Simply don't learn where other countries are.

See? Ha! Hard to fight a war in a place you can't find, isn't it?

While maybe not so foolproof after all, the argument was apparently raised by Johnson when he defended himself for failing to know what Aleppo is as well as being unable to name a single foreign leader he respects, The Hill reports. "You know what, the fact that somebody can dot the I's and cross the T's on a foreign leader or a geographic location then allows them to put our military in harms way," Johnson explained to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday. He added, "We elect people who can dot the I's and cross the T's on these names and geographic locations as opposed to the underlying philosophy, which is let's stop getting involved in these regime changes."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox