January 2016, Johnson resigned from his post as CEO of Cannabis Sativa, Inc., to pursue political opportunities, hinting to a 2016 presidential run. On January 6, 2016, Johnson declared that he would seek the Libertarian nomination for the presidency. On May 18, Johnson named former Massachusetts Governor William Weld as his running mate. On May 29, 2016, Johnson received the Libertarian nomination on the second ballot. Johnson was on the ballot in all 50 states. On September 8, Johnson drew widespread negative attention when he appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe and was asked by panelist Mike Barnicle, "As president, what would you do about Aleppo?" Johnson responded, "And what is Aleppo?". After a clarification from Barnicle, Johnson answered by saying that "the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that at an end." Johnson criticized U.S. support for the Free Syrian Army and Kurdish forces and stated that the "mess" in Syria was "the result of regime change that we end up supporting. And, inevitably, these regime changes have led to a less-safe world." Johnson's "what is Aleppo?" question drew widespread attention, much of it negative. In response to charges that he was uninformed, Johnson said that he had "blanked," that he did "understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict," and that he had thought that Barnicle's reference to "Aleppo" was in relation to "an acronym, not the Syrian conflict." On September 23, in an MSNBC interview with Kasie Hunt, Gary Johnson noted the benefits of being invited to the 2016 Presidential Debates. While discussing this topic, Johnson stuck out his tongue through his teeth at the reporter while explaining that he could win a three-way debate, and ultimately the Presidency, versus Clinton and Trump while speaking in that manner. Johnson's spokesperson, John LaBeaume, later stated, "He was just having fun" and that it was "lighthearted". On September 28, in a MSNBC Town Hall, Johnson was asked by Chris Matthews to name a world leader he respected, he tried to name Vicente Fox, a former President of Mexico, but could not remember his name. The following day, he tweeted, "It's been almost 24 hours...and I still can't come up with a foreign leader I look up to." Later in a CNN interview, he expanded upon his reluctance to endorse political leaders, "I held a lot of people in this country on