“What is Aleppo?”
That was Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson’s response when he was asked Thursday about the major Syrian city – and epicenter of that nation’s long-raging civil war — on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Johnson continued to fumble this relatively predictable foreign policy question, turning an opportunity to get positive media attention into a potentially costly gaffe.
It’s impossible to know just yet if this misstep will hurt Johnson in the polls. Voters who are just tuning in to the election might see it and decide he isn’t a serious candidate. Or his gap in foreign policy knowledge could be overshadowed by the cacophony of the rest of the political news cycle and fail to make a dent in his modest numbers. But either way, it’s worth asking whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump would gain more if Johnson were to implode as a result or even just slowly fade.
The RealClearPolitics polling averages suggest that Johnson may be taking slightly more of his support from Clinton than Trump. In the two-way-race average of national polls (no third parties included) Clinton leads Trump by 2.8 percentage points. But when Johnson is included, her lead drops to 2.1 points. Clinton also leads Trump by 2.1 points when Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are included.
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