Amy Klobuchar And Tom Steyer Have Their Own Aleppo Moments Ahead Of Nevada Caucuses
Democratic presidential candidates Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer both stumbled during an interview with American Spanish-language television network Telemundo, echoing the troubles former Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson experienced during foreign policy questioning.
Both Klobuchar and Steyer could not name Mexico‘s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, when pressed by interviewer Guad Venegas, The Hill reports.
When asked about information on Obrador, Klobuchar could not name anything about him and assured she would visit Mexico within the first 100 days of her possible presidency. After being pressed continuously about any information she could provide relating to Obrador, the Minnesota senator eventually admitted that she did not know his name.
“Don’t you think it would be important, if you’re running for president, to know who the president of Mexico, the country to the south of the United States, is because it affects so many Americans?” Venegas asked in response.
Steyer claimed to have forgotten the name of the Mexican president, while former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was able to name him.
“President López Obrador is one of the most important leaders in the hemisphere,” he said.
The embarrassing moments echoed Johnson’s “Aleppo moment,” which refers to an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe in 2016 in which he appeared unaware of the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo.
“What would you do if you were elected about Aleppo?” journalist Mike Barnicle asked Johnson, per The Guardian.
“And what is Aleppo?” Johnson responded, eliciting surprise from Barnicle.
In an interview with Telemundo, Tom Steyer and Amy Klobuchar could not remember the name of the president of Mexico Andrés Obrador pic.twitter.com/SADOUHrvZd
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 14, 2020
It didn’t stop there for Johnson. As reported by ABC News, Johnson again fumbled during foreign policy questioning at a town hall when host Chris Matthews asked him his favorite international leader — someone he respects and looks up to.
“I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment in the former president of Mexico,” Johnson said after he couldn’t give a name following Matthew’s continued pressure.
“But I’m giving you the whole world. Anybody in the world you like. Anybody. Pick any leader,” Matthews continued.
Johnson said his choice was the former president of Mexico, but could not remember his name. His running mate, Bill Weld, who is currently running against Donald Trump as a Republican presidential candidate, eventually helped the former presidential candidate name former Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Although Johnson has remained relatively under-the-radar following his 2016 presidential run, he has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard. He claims to be open to doing whatever he can to support the Hawaii congresswoman’s campaign.
