While appearing on a broadcast for MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on September 8, 2016, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson faltered after being asked a fairly simple question.

“What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo?”, asked panelist Mike Barnicle. Johnson then asked for clarification of the question, to which he seemed confused and responded, “And what is Aleppo?”

“You’re kidding”, an understandably surprised Barnicle replied, before explaining the significance of this Syrian city to one of America’s presidential hopefuls.

Soon after it was made clear that Aleppo is the center of Syria’s refugee crisis, Johnson interrupted and said, “Okay. Got it.” This misstep could prove costly for Johnson who is looking to take advantage of the perceived ineptitude of the candidates from the two major parties.

“For those who believe this is a disqualifier, so be it”, Johnson said when asked about the potential ramifications of his error could be. Johnson has been polling very well thus far for a third party presidential candidate, but now it is becoming more unlikely that he will receive the 15 percent benchmark in national polls that would grant him a seat at the nationally televised presidential debate.

This interview, and specifically Johnson’s question has garnered a tremendous amount of attention across the country, as the hashtag “#WhatIsAleppo” was trending across social media sites just hours after. Despite the mockery, Johnson did answer Barnicle’s query.

“With regard to Syria I do think it’s a mess. I think that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that at an end”, Johnson stated after he recovered. However, nobody seems to be talking about―or even care about―Johnson’s response, as his lack of knowledge has stolen the spotlight.

In an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday, September 20, Johnson’s mishap resurfaced. He said that at first he thought Aleppo was an acronym for something, perhaps beginning with “American”. However, he continued his answer by acknowledging that he made a mistake just as all humans do. Johnson appears to be trying to spin this as best he can into a positive for his campaign, in which he preaches the importance of honesty and transparency.

On the effect of Johnson’s blunder, West Morris senior Zach Meister said, “I don’t think he would have had a realistic shot to win the presidency regardless, but this could only hurt his chances”.

Whether or not Gary Johnson’s question heard around the world has an effect on the election is yet to be seen, but what we do know is that it has added more fireworks what is already the most theatrical and dramatic campaign war in United States history.