Presidential nominee Gary Johnson: you can’t go to war with places you don’t know exist

Less than a week after stumbling when asked to name a foreign leader, Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson is trying to spin his gaffe as a potential strength for office.

In an appearance on MSNBC Tuesday morning, the former New Mexico governor claimed having a remote understanding of foreign policy could prevent the U.S. from entering into combat.

“You know what? The fact that somebody can dot the Is and cross the Ts on a foreign leader or a geographic location, that then allows them to put our military in harm’s way,” Johnson said, before mentioning the U.S. needs to avoid conflict so no more service people are afflicted with PTSD.

READ MORE: ‘What is Aleppo?’: Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson baffled by question on Syrian conflict

“We wonder why our men in service and women suffer from PTSD in the first place,” he continued. “We elect people who can dot the Is and cross the Ts on these names and geographic locations as opposed to the underlying philosophy, which is, let’s stop getting involved in these regime changes.”

In some of the most recent polls conducted ahead of the U.S. election, 9 per cent of Americans are prepared to vote for Johnson on Nov. 8.

WATCH: Libertarian presidential candidate has another ‘Aleppo moment’

0:57 Libertarian presidential candidate has another ‘Aleppo moment’

Johnson’s lack of foreign affairs knowledge first came to the forefront a month ago, when he was asked about the ongoing conflict in Syria.

“What’s Aleppo?” was his response, showing a startling lack of awareness of one of the most populous and hardest-hit cities in the war-torn country.

READ MORE: Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson can’t name a single world leader, calls it an ‘Aleppo moment’

That question was just the tip of the iceberg for Johnson, who had a self-described “Aleppo moment” last week when he was asked about which foreign leaders he admired the most.

The presidential hopeful was unable to name a single foreign leader, which he blamed on “brain freeze.”

In Tuesday’s interview, he claimed to have never been in politics before — despite his term as governor. He also stated he could still not name a foreign leader he admired.

WATCH: Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson: ‘What is Aleppo?’

0:58 Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson: ‘What is Aleppo?’

“Five days after the interview, Andrea, I still can’t think of a world leader that I respect,” Johnson said.

“I mean, having never been involved in politics before, I will tell you I held a lot of people in this country on pedestals thinking they were role models. I got to meet them up front and personal and found out they were empty suits. They weren’t about issues. They weren’t about doing what was best. They were about getting re-elected.”