Libertarian VP: ‘Pop quizzes’ on TV are not Johnson’s ‘forte’

Gary Johnson’s running mate, Bill Weld, is defending the Libertarian presidential nominee’s recent gaffes but admitted he isn’t very good at handling televised “pop quizzes.”

“Pop quizzes on television are obviously not his forte,” Weld said during an interview on CNN Thursday.

{mosads}The former Massachusetts governor argued that “depth of analysis and surprising lines of analysis are [Johnson’s] forte.”

“I think he just needs time to expound what he’s thinking,” Weld said.

Johnson struggled during a “lightning round” of questions on MSNBC’s “Hardball” Wednesday to name a foreign leader he admires.

“I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment,” the former New Mexico governor joked, referring to his gaffe earlier this month where he blanked when asked about the Syrian city.

In an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Johnson said, “What is Aleppo?” when asked about the war-torn Syrian city. He later said he was thinking about an acronym, insisting he understood the Syrian conflict.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on Thursday mocked Johnson’s inability to name a foreign leader before identifying Germany’s Angela Merkel as a world leader she admires.

Johnson appeared to try to turn the issue into a criticism of current heads of state on Thursday, tweeting, “It’s been almost 24 hours…and I still can’t come up with a foreign leader I look up to.”