New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
Evan Vucci/AP
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
ABDALRHMAN ISMAIL/REUTERS
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
KEVIN KOLCZYNSKI/REUTERS
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
And what is Donald Trump’s history of controversial comments?
Libertarian presidential Gary Johnson took responsibility for his “What is Aleppo?” gaffe — but insisted that others in the race have made far worse mistakes.
“Has Donald Trump not said 150 things that should disqualify him?” the former New Mexico Governor asked on “Imus in the Morning” Friday. “There is an incredible double standard going on here.”
Johnson said there was “no excuse” for his Thursday morning fumble on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” When asked about how he’d help Aleppo, the presidential candidate froze.
“And what is Aleppo?” he asked.
Flabbergasted MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle filled him in: “You’re kidding. Aleppo is in Syria — it’s the epicenter of the refugee crisis.”
On Friday, Johnson said there had been no talk of Syria before he was asked about Aleppo, and without context, he thought Barnicle had asked him about an acronym.
“This is no excuse, no excuse, but the first thing I was thinking was, ‘Aleppo, an anonym, American Latin, what does it stand for?'” he said. “I was trying to put the letters together.”
Critics immediately jumped on Johnson’s mistake, and some said the gaffe should disqualify him from being a world leader. But the candidate said his slip of the tongue is nothing compared to Trump’s storied history of insulting, crass and factually inaccurate statements.
“If this is one thing, hasn’t he said 150 of those things?” he asked.
Johnson pointed to Trump’s plan to deport 11 million undocumented migrants as a key policy that makes the bombastic businessman unfit for the White House.
“This is a political boogeyman that does not exist,” he said of Trump’s portrayal of Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and rapists that are stealing jobs from Americans. “They are not taking jobs that U.S. citizens want.”
Johnson said voters should forgive a one-time mistake from any political candidate. But there’s a clear distinction between a simple slip up and a serial lie, he said.
“You can have a misunderstanding. You can say things that are wrong. But then when you continue to say those things wrong in the face of what the facts are, to me, that is a whole different story,” Johnson said. “Donald Trump is confronted with issues where he is saying things wrong, and yet continues to say those things wrong.”