by Kody Fairfield
As presented earlier in a piece by Liberty Viral, Libertarian Presidential nominee Gary Johnson appeared to have a major gaffe moment when he asked MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle, “What is Aleppo?”
Fortunately for Johnson, it seems there are ways to utilize this gaffe to highlight and rejuvenate his campaign.
1. The Spotlight
Even though it appears that Johnson’s gaffe shows a weakness of foreign policy. It has brought a firestorm of media coverage. His name has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC all morning long, bringing him much needed attention. This coverage could bring him more name recognition, and allow voters to see that there is another voice out there other than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.
As the old adage goes, there is no such thing as bad press.
2. Shows His Honesty
In his moment of error, you did not see Johnson do what most politicians would normally do. That is, he did not become instantly defensive and get frustrated. You saw an honest man who did not pretend to know an answer he was not informed enough on to give. This could make Johnson relatable to a majority of the American populace, in a time when the two major party candidates are the most disliked in history.
You can read Johnson’s honest comments on this situation here.
3. Brings Syrian Civil War And Foreign Policy To Forefront
Johnson’s gaffe has forced the media and other politicians to reopen the conversation about the Syrian Civil War. This could play well for Johnson, as he can use this opportunity to draw a line proving he is diametrically opposed to either of the major party candidates in relation to this war. He could create an articulate presentation about what our policies regarding Syria have been and criticize why Aleppo would even be brought up in the first place.
4. Gaffes Are A Better Strategy Than Interventionism
With Libertarians always being criticized about being isolationists or weak on foreign policy, this situation now gives Johnson the ability to speak to those issues. Like it was mentioned above, he can show that in his honest gaffe, his ideas are far better than Hillary or Trump’s in terms of the role of the US worldwide. He can highlight the issues, some of which can be laid directly at the feet of Clinton, of US interventionism and how it has created places like Aleppo or what happened in Libya.
5. Shows Media Bias
The other aspect that Johnson can use to his advantage in this gaffe fiasco, is the type of coverage he gets on national news networks, versus that of Trump of Clinton. When the two major party candidates are on TV, they are often lobbed softballs, things we already know the answer to or things that are in their wheelhouse of expertise. Though the media may have hard-hitting questions, they are seemingly often afraid to ask them. They fear that if they do, and if a candidate flubs the question, that candidate may not want to return to the show or network. This would hurt the network’s bottom-line, as candidate appearances drive ratings. With Johnson however, they feel they have nothing to lose, since the Libertarian Party is new to the spotlight, and needs media attention and exposure anywhere they can get it.
Johnson should highlight this fact, and call for tougher questions for Clinton and Trump. He and libertarians can put pressure on the media to dig into the real issues, and not allow them to get away with platitudes written on their campaign websites. He should also point out that when the “gotcha” questions fool foreign policy experts on MSNBC and The New York Times, it seems pretty clear that the question was a set-up.