if anyone hear is a flip-flopper, it is you brett baier. so you cool it with the third degree and you be nice to mitt romney. remember, you work for fox news. he is a republican candidate. a year from now, he might be your coworker. we'll >> stephen: welcome back, everybody, thank you so much. my guest tonight is a british entrepreneur and billionaire, yeah, but that's in metric. please welcome sir richard branson. (cheers and applause) sir richard, good to see you again. how are you. >> i'm very well. >> stephen: now, i-- i-- are you expecting a fire? sir richard, why would you have a fire extinguisher. >> i thought if the interview is a good intervow and the audience think it was a good interview, thumbs up and i walk off. and if it they feel it is a bad interview, thumbs down. we will decide at the end, anyway. >> stephen: wait a second so, thumbs down, dow what, you set me on fire and then put it out? >> well, receipts's come to that depending-- . >> stephen: okay. your new book is you will cad screw business as usual, all right. your p

for more, we turn to fox new's senior anchor with play mobile hair, brett baier. >> 13 counties in the region have received $900 sno-cone machines courtesy of a homeland security grant. local media references state document claiming the machines have a variety of uses, among them making ice to treat injures. and prevent heat related illnesses during emergencies. and to provide sno-cones during promotional events. >> stephen: sno-cones! take that al qaeda! you see, al qaeda's from the desert. they've got no defense against snow, especially in cone form. but the soft on terror-crats are mischaracterizing these machines as a frivolous waste of tax money so local michigan official david feldspausch set the record straight, quote. i don't like the term sno-cone machines because it sounds horrible. when you look at it as an iced shaving machine and its purpose, it makes a little more sense. yes, it is not a sno-cone machine t is an iced shaving machine. just like that excuse isn't bull [bleep], it's night rate rich budget fertilizer. he is not the only one defending this vital expenditure. f

. >> jon: brett baier pushing him to clarify past positions on individual health insurance and the mandate to buy it. judy, you are shaking your head during that playback. what do you think about mr. romney's overall performance? >> he just doesn't do a chuckle very well. this is most uncomfortable man trying not to jump up and wrap his arms around brett's neck. it so interesting he is thrown off stride by something that is going to be such an obvious line of attack. >> they are all think they are invincible at some level. i think brett had the right to challenge him. i noticed an interview with anne romney, mitt's wife, she claimed that he held the same positions all his life. that is not factually correct. if you want to play the tape. let's go to the videotape as they say. i think newt gingrich's approach is much better. when he is talking about the commercial he made with nancy pelosi, that the stupidest thing i ever do. but to deny that you had a position on gay rights, on the individual mandate, a lot of other things that republicans are concerned about, is just not correct. >> he br

on tuesday night romney decided to ditch the money sters and sit down one-on-one with fox news brett baier who for no apparent reason surrounded romney with jellies and marmalades. or maybe that's the fox survival bunker that glenn beck left behind. (laughter) >> jon: can't think of-- but it was a good interview by baier and as baier told bill o'reilly afterward, romney didn't like it so much. >> he thought it was overly aggressive. clearly got up set with the question. he was irritated by the interview. >> and after we finished he went to his holding room and then came back and said he didn't like the interview. and thought it was uncalled for. >> jon: oh [bleep], jam fight in the marmalade room! (laughter) >> jon: jam fight in the marmalade room! let's go to it let's see what is on. >> lightning round here. what was the last book you read. >> i'm reading a fun one so i will skip that, i just read decision points by president bush. >> jon: good call on reading the fun one that might humanize you under your hat. favorite food. >> i'm going to keep ones that other humans eat to myself, and-

happened to him, other than newt gingrich, is that he subjected himself to read interview with brett baier on fox and did not do so well. >> it was a disaster. this was an opportunity for him to do something simple, discuss his record. it was not a gadget interview. brett was fair and straightforward. it was very disconcerting to see romney crack under that. he can dish it out, but he cannot take it. >> he has run at a decent campaign over all. >> it is levin new england patriots. they have a big lead, and they are sitting on it. he has had one challenger after another that has combusted spontaneously. newt might or might not, but romney's problem is, running in a wide field when you have these debates, and there have been a 11 of them when you're on the stage with nine others, nobody gets to follow up. when he did the interview, brett was ready and would follow up every answer with another question, and he was also well prepared and had previous statements. it was an unusual situation. if romney had not been candid before, and he implied as the field narrows, he may have a hard time. >> a

. >> jon: brett baier pushing him to clarify past positions on individual health insurance and the mandateaking your head during that playback. what do you think about mr. romney's overall performance? >> he just doesn't do a chuckle very well. this is most uncomfortable man trying not to jump up and wrap his arms around brett's neck. it so interesting he is thrown off stride by something that is going to be such an obvious line of attack. >> they are all think they are invincible at some level. i think brett had the right to challenge him. i noticed an interview with anne romney, mitt's wife, she claimed that he held the same positions all his life. that is not factually correct. if you want to play the tape. let's go to the videotape as they say. i think newt gingrich's approach is much better. when he is talking about the commercial he made with nancy pelosi, that the stupidest thing i ever do. but to deny that you had a position on gay rights, on the individual mandate, a lot of other things that republicans are concerned about, is just not correct. >> he brings up the name of newt gin

ron paul, colleague brett baier, says the air waves and ron paul ads against gingrich are constant. this may begin to take a toll on the speaker. his record is extensive and target. >> greta: you think the des moines register that is the big paper in the state, the newspaper says there is evangelicals that is hitting the road for bachmann. then two pastors calling gingrich an empty suit with a broken zipper. >> my feeling is evangelical christians will be more forgiving of gingrich because of this con verge go catholicism. he has asked for forgiveness. that is meaningful to evangelicals but there is lot out there that is subject of attack. if he begins to stumble. i think gingrich perhaps any other candidate need to win iowa. he needs something that would really establish his footing in the race. that would be source of additional momentum going into the states to come. >> greta: and new hampshire, one of the main papers says romney country, speaker gingrich was there and had deafening applause. you don't expect that in new hampshire. >> there are conservatives a lot of conservative

then we could have seen for ourselves just exactly how aggressive he was in his complaint about brett baier's just judging his own performance here and so it's a little hard to know. >> fair enough. >> usually candidates when they want to make a change in attitude, will do this on camera. it's hard for us to imagine that mitt romney is somehow, you know -- had a personality change but he's now up against newt gingrich and gingrich has a volcan volcanic, quick way with words that romney is not known for. so he may feel some need to take up his game. >> it's interesting, you guys had a story, you get the sense the romney campaign, not fully prepared to handle gingrich's rise, and not sure -- do they see if he will just kill himself, his candidacy or do they have to help it along? >> they probably have to help it along because it's so close to the caucuses now. you had so much time for rick perry -- perry had four months to implode, herman cain several months, as well. gingrich now has been in the lead for two weeks now and hasn't blundered yet and looks like he may not blunder on his own. >>

he did it quite quickly when you ask him about that, the brett baier interview touched upon. >> greggkes a good point. you you almost need a neck brace so much whiplash. here is what steve wrote. i'll put it on the screen. >> he ran to the left in 1994 and he went to the right when he got his political future would be utah. he -- >> gregg: as i say, does that kind of whiplash explain why many in the party are so resistant and reluctant to cast their ballot for romney? >> there are many in the party who the jury is out. they want to question him. they want ability. they have heard him in 11 debates. he's been the tortoise and hare, he has been consistent. he hasn't broken 25% but we haven't gotten to the caucus and primary season yet. i happen to think when he is able to explain his policies, look, compared to obama, he is not a flip-flopper at all. he said he would close gitmo and claimed that unemployment would not exceed 8%. we haven't hit below 8% since he has been president. when you take the record of a accomplishment of a sitting president what romney has been able to do the con

:00 eastern time, an american election headquarters special previewing tuesday's race hosted by brett baier live and megyn kelly from new york city and we're going to have special coverage of caucuses beginning 6:00 p.m. eastern time rule right here on the fox news channel. >> heather: four of the republican candidates showing their support for the lawsuit filed by rick perry's campaign alleging virginia's state requirements for the significant itself to get on the ballot is unconstitutional. they said they failed to meet the requirements and currently out of virginia's primary. that is not the only controversy surrounding the vote in that state. peter doocy has more. >> reporter: as of march 6:00, they will have two choices, miot romney and ron paul. before allowed to pull the lever for either, they have to promise the same thing in november by signing something that says, i had under signed i intend to support the nominee of the republican party for president. now, if you break this pledge you won't get hauled off to jail. it's not legally binding. but in the old state, some republicans s

baier but how was he today? >> he was fine. there wasn't that edginess. i think what he showed with brett was a bad idea because brett was asking him the kind of questions that's going to continue to face. these are legitimateÑi questions about his record as governor of massachusetts. the romney campaign, if you talk to them a long time, they believe these questions have been asked and answered. they say we've told you the answers to these questions, why do you keep asking them? well, there's no questions created by the questions. he has to understand he will keep facing these for the next several months if he continues in the primary. >> and especially before the 4th. >> it all starts again before the general election. >> it sure does. thank you. >> thank you. >> bad news tore former illinois governor blagojevich. he was convicted of 18 counts of corruption. they include allegations that he tried to sell president obama's senate seat. during the sentencing hearing he made a plea to the judge for mercy. he said he made terrible mistakes and admitted to breaking the law. the judge said tha

coverage for the iowa caucus and all the results, bret baier on the air at 6:00 with special report. shepard smith will be on after that, and brett and i will be on the air with the results as they come in. fox news alert iran launching a new round of war games near a vital route for oil exports. the navy conducting drills that is rattling nerves across the middle east and perhaps washington. iran engage nothing a war of words threatening to shut off traffic through the strait of hormuz, we'll very muc have much more later. uncle sam initiates a document dump the day before christmas weekend. that is typically when they release things they don't want you to see. according to the gao the federal government made nearly $34 trillion in promises this year, 34 trillion. that means trillions of extra spending that cannot be paid for, and it works out to essentially a 4 trillion-dollar deficit just in 2011. we have an anchor from the fox business network show. they go in and do an audit of the federal government and say they thought our debt was at 15 trillion or so and our deficit was 4 trillion. where do they get their numbers in the

brett, your list is just not accurate. one, we're going to have to be better-informed about my views on issues. >> bret baier, who was asking the questions, told him after the interview, romney said the questions were overaggressive and uncalled for. breaking news this morning, the romney campaign has released its first ad in iowa. they have been thinking to run it for some months now. but this ad going up this morning, signs he's going all-in this crucial first caucus state. >> it's the time to do it. >> that was a big move for romney. he was afraid to go back there after what happened four years ago. >>> we're going to switch gears to the latest on the case of michelle parker, the mom who disappeared after fighting on "the people's court" with her former fiance. that man, dale smith, is the prime suspect. but yesterday, a judge awarded him custody of the couple's twins. ryan owens is on the case for us in orlando. good morning, ryan. >> reporter: good morning, to you, george. michelle parker disappeared two weeks ago today. we're told every day since, her twin toddlers ask, where's mommy? and every day, they're told, she'

brett told bill o'reilly that you said you seemed irritated. you said the interview was overly aggressive and uncalled for. and bret baierright then and one of them was romneycare, which some feel is one of your biggest vulnerabilities and he was giving you a chance to respond to it. you weren't expecting just a softball interview, were you? >> of course not. turned out to be a good opportunity to talk about, you know, the mud being thrown by the democrats and i got the chance to bat back some of that. so it worked pretty well. >> gretchen: speaking of the mud and possible negative campaigning, it appears that the guy who endorsed you, a huge endorsement, chris christie, the governor of new jersey, now he's on the attack mode for you against newt gingrich. i want to read a quote from chris christie. here is what he said: speaker gingrich has never run anything and he's been a legislator. i have to tell you, i don't think being a legislator is the best calling card. look at the guy we have in the white house now. he never ran anything and was a legislator. have you summoned chris christie to be the attack dog against newt