--- title: What Candidate Gary Johnson Should Know About Aleppo description: Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson has caused outrage after unashamedly asking “And what is Aleppo?” live on Morning Joe Thursday canonical: https://time.com/4483736/presidential-candidate-gary-johnson-should-know-about-aleppo/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-08T15:17:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:10.376Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Candidate Gary Johnson Should Know About Aleppo og:description: Johnson has caused outrage by asking “And what is Aleppo?” live on Morning Joe og:url: https://time.com/4483736/presidential-candidate-gary-johnson-should-know-about-aleppo/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6364f7799f739284/6988a543e20a87edc8a92530/aleppo-white-helmets-rescue.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: aleppo-white-helmets-rescue og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Candidate Gary Johnson Should Know About Aleppo twitter:description: Johnson has caused outrage by asking “And what is Aleppo?” live on Morning Joe twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6364f7799f739284/6988a543e20a87edc8a92530/aleppo-white-helmets-rescue.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This is What Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson Should Know About Aleppo > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: How Politicians Shouldn't Answer Questions [Watch (HLS stream): How Politicians Shouldn't Answer Questions](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nH4ePn2B.m3u8) (1:57)  _Published 2016-09-08. Watch politicians avoid answering tough questions throughout the years._ by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Sep 8, 2016 3:17 PM UTC  Syrian civilians and a rescue worker evacuate children in the Maadi district of eastern Aleppo after regime aircrafts reportedly dropped explosive-packed barrel bombs on Aug. 27, 2016. Syrian civilians and a rescue worker evacuate children in the Maadi district of eastern Aleppo after regime aircrafts reportedly dropped explosive-packed barrel bombs on Aug. 27, 2016. Ameer Alhalbi—AFP/Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Sep 8, 2016 3:17 PM UTC Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson has [caused outrage](http://time.com/4483682/presidential-candidate-gary-johnson-asks-and-what-is-aleppo/?xid=homepage) after asking [“And what is Aleppo?”](http://time.com/4456905/aleppo-syria-boy-ambulance/) live on _Morning Joe_ when questioned about the war-torn Syrian city. Social media predictably went into meltdown, with #WhatisAleppo quickly trending on Twitter and many users expressing their disbelief that the presidential candidate did not recognise the name of the city, which has regularly been in the news since 2011. > [](https://twitter.com/Morning%5FJoe/status/773851435477762048) The former New Mexico governor later said that he had misheard the name of the city at the heart of the Syrian civil war and refugee crisis and at first thought it was an acronym. Here are a few facts that will help him and anyone else avoid confusion in future. **1\. A grand history** Aleppo’s history is as ancient as Damascus; it is considered to be one of the longest continuously inhabited cities in the world, won and lost by a succession of empires, sacked by myriad invaders and reduced to rubble by epic earthquakes. A UNESCO World Heritage Centre with its thousands of old limestone houses and winding old streets, Aleppo has been mentioned in Egyptian texts from as early as the 20th Century BC. **2\. International allure** Following the advent of Islam and into the medieval era, Aleppo became a hub of the Silk Road, a giant entrepôt pooling in all the riches of China and India for buyers further west, north and south. By the 16th century, numerous European merchant houses set up shop to try to get a piece of the action; Aleppo’s far-reaching allure is exemplified by its mention in Shakespeare’s _Macbeth_, when one of the witches speaks of a sailor’s wife: “Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o’ th’ Tiger.”  A sweeping view of Aleppo, Syria, on Oct. 5, 2006\. Aleppo was famous for its architecture, attractive churches, mosques, schools and baths, and became an important center of trade between the eastern Mediterranean kingdoms and the merchants of Venice. Eric Lafforgue—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images **3\. Modern day industrial and financial hub** Following Syrian independence in 1946, the city’s population expanded from 300,000 to about 2.3 million by 2005 as it steadily became the country’s industrial and financial center, rivaling the capital, Damascus. Today it lies in ruins, thousands of its inhabitants have been killed and the population is estimated at 250,000 **4\. Uprising against President Bashar Assad** Aleppo’s decline began when it suddenly became a key battleground in July 2012, when rebel fighters launched an offensive to oust government forces and gain control over northern Syria. Since then, it has remained at the heart of the struggle between the regime of Bashar Assad and the rebels attempting to oust him. The [seizure in June of the Castello Road](http://time.com/4405037/aleppo-siege-mainstream-rebels-bashar-assad/), the last remaining route into the rebel-held eastern section of Aleppo, by pro-government forces aided by Russian air support, made life incredibly difficult for residents. Humanitarian aid was unable to get through and few trapped there were able to leave. Opposition forces managed to [break the siege](http://time.com/4442255/syria-aleppo-siege-armed-groups/) in early August but fighting has intensified since then. **5\. The boy in the ambulance** Aleppo was most recently in the news when the image of an injured boy in an ambulance in the city went viral. Omran Daqneesh, [“the boy in the ambulance”](http://time.com/4456905/aleppo-syria-boy-ambulance/) became a symbol of Aleppo’s devastation – and of international shame and failure. But Omran is just one of an estimated 75,000 children are fighting to survive in eastern Aleppo; prevented from going to school or even hospital, as both are deemed too unsafe, these children live under constant fear of attack. The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights estimates that more than 14,000 children have died since the conflict began in 2010. ## Transcript And what is Aleppo? You're kidding? No. Aleppo is in Syria. It's the epicenter of the refuge crisis- Okay got it, got it. [ MUSIC ] When campaigning, you have a few options when faced with a tough question. You can bluff, or change the subject. One thing you can't do is simply not answer. Here are a few examples of politicians who took that approach. Why do you wanna be President? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Well I'm- [ BLANK_AUDIO ] So you agreed with President Obama on Libya? Okay, Libya. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I've gotta go back, see. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reasons. No, that's a different one. What newspapers and magazines? Scenes. Did you regularly read, before you were tapped for this, to stay informed, and to understand the world? I've read most of them. Again, with a great appreciation for the press, for the media. But what one specifically? I'm curious. Where you All of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years. Governor Chafee, you've attacked Secretary Clinton for being too close to Wall Street Banks. In 1999, you voted for the very bill that made banks bigger. The Glass- Steagall was my very first vote, I just arrived, my dad had died in office. I was appointed to the office. It was my very first vote. Are you saying you didn't know what you were voting I just arrived at senate. I would do away with the education, the- Commerce. Commerce. And let's see. I can't. The third one I can't. Sorry. [ LAUGH ] Oops. 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