The Libertarian candidate for president, Gov. Gary Johnson, raised a lot of eyebrows in an interview Thursday morning on MSNBC in which he didn’t seem to know about a major humanitarian disaster. Morning Joe’s Mike Barnicle asked Johnson about the airstrikes and attacks in Aleppo, Syria:
Barnicle: What would you do if you were elected about Aleppo?
Johnson: About?
Barnicle: Aleppo.
Johnson: And what is Aleppo?
Barnicle: You’re kidding.
Johnson: No.
Barnicle informed Johnson that Aleppo is in Syria. Johnson then said “Got it.” and talked about joining hands with Russia to bring about a diplomatic end to the civil war. But #WhatIsAleppo has been burning up Twitter, with many people using the moment to teach the world about what’s going on in Syria. The anger, it seems, isn’t just at Johnson, but at the lack of knowledge about the Syrian war in general.
Twitter users have seized upon the moment to show exactly what is going on in Aleppo:
This is #Aleppo. #whatisaleppo pic.twitter.com/l6Fqs8I5Pa
— Eli Yokley (@eyokley) September 8, 2016
#WhatIsAleppo you ask? Open your eyes and your mind… #ThisisAleppo #SyrianConflict https://t.co/kSE1aOQYiz
— Alia (@Alia_3sal91) September 8, 2016
One more time, #WhatIsAleppo? It’s where an image of a kid covered in blood & dirt got you to care about Syria again https://t.co/1CzZnFn21t
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 8, 2016
For his part, Johnson has taken the blame for not knowing about Aleppo. He admitted he “blanked,” and even included #WhatIsAleppo in his Tweet noting his gaffe:
Started my day by setting aside any doubt I’m human. #WhatIsAleppo? My statement: https://t.co/CDKbaA288l
— Gov. Gary Johnson (@GovGaryJohnson) September 8, 2016