After stumbling on a question about the situation in Libya just days ago, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain suggested on Friday that he believes the new Libyan government involves elements of the Taliban.
"Do I agree with siding with the opposition? Do I agree with saying that Gaddafi should go?" Cain said. "Do I agree that they now have a country where you've got Taliban and Al Qaeda that's going to be part of the government?"
The GOP hopeful's rhetorical questions were part of Cain's defense of his earlier gaffe. He made the suggestion at an Orlando press conference, according to Politico.
"Do I agree with not knowing the government was going to -- which part was he asking me about?" Cain said, referring to the reporter from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's editorial board who asked the presidential contender about Libya. "I was trying to get him to be specific and he wouldn't be specific."
Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon tried to downplay the incident, saying that the video was "taken out of context" and that Cain was running "on four hours of sleep."
"He didn't say anything wrong or inaccurate; it just took him a while to recall the specifics of Libya," Gordon said.
In an apparent effort to avoid another gaffe, Cain's campaign canceled a similar planned interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader that was supposed to take place on Thursday.