Stephen Colbert mocks Gary Johnson’s Aleppo gaffe on The Late Show
By Hector Cruz
The Late Show host Stephen Colbert joked about Gary Johnson flubbing a question about Aleppo.
Not much attention has been paid to the third-party candidates running for president by the late-night hosts up until recently. Late Late Show host James Corden recently ribbed Green Party nominee Jill Stein for pandering to millennials, including a tweet she sent out about Harambe. Now, the Libertarian Party’s Gary Johnson is in the news for not knowing what Aleppo meant when questioned about the Syrian city in an interview on MSNBC. That caught the attention of Stephen Colbert, who mocked the presidential candidate in the opening monologue of a recent episode ofThe Late Show.
After covering the criticism levied at Matt Lauer over his moderation of the Commander-in-Chief forum, the host mentioned that although voters may feel disillusioned with the major party candidates’ performance at the event, they may “want to re-think” voting for a third-party candidate like Johnson after he flubbed a “basic question about Syria.” He then showed the viral clip where the former New Mexico governor blanked when he was asked about what his questioner explained is the “epicenter of the refugee crisis.”
“Got it, got it. Aleppo. I thought you said ‘a leopard,'” Colbert joked, imitating Johnson. “I was like ‘What would I do about a leopard? Probably run away from it.'”
More from Late Show
- Is The Late Show with Stephen Colbert new tonight, December 6?
- Is The Late Show with Stephen Colbert new tonight, December 4?
- Is The Late Show with Stephen Colbert new tonight, November 30?
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s most-watched monologue of November
- Is The Late Show with Stephen Colbert new tonight, November 29?
He continued, “But let’s talk about the Syrian town of Alpo — obviously, that’s where they make the dog food.”
The comedian went on to call the incident “embarrassing,” before adding: “I haven’t seen someone go blank like that since I was asked, ‘Who is Gary Johnson?'”
“Seriously, who is Gary Johnson? I am starting to get the feeling that guy might not win the election,” Colbert concluded, after noting that he’s interviewed him four times.
Watch the clip below, with the jokes about Johnson starting around the 4:35 mark:
Next: Ratings: Tonight Show beats Colbert's The Late Show, Kimmel combined
Johnson has taken full responsibility for the gaffe since it occurred, but it comes at a crucial time for his campaign as he seeks to get his poll numbers up to the 15% threshold required to participate in the upcoming debates by appealing to disillusioned voters on both sides of the aisle.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS. This week’s guests include Dr. Phil, Alan Cumming, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emma Roberts, Allen Iverson, Rachel Maddow, Tracee Ellis Ross and Andrew Rannells.