One word derails Romney’s London trip

>> washington. it's friday, july 27th , 2012 . we have the big new gdp numbers. stagnation, stagnant growth. those could be an olympic-sized problem for the president. let's get to the first read of the morning. just one line. one response to a question about the olympics . at the start of the brian williams interview that derailed the trip before it got started.

>> in the short time we were here in london, do they look ready?

>> hard to know how well it will turn out. there were disconcerting stories about the private security firm not having enough people and the supposed strike of the immigration customs officials. that obviously is not encouraging.

>> all fact, but as you can imagine, the british press went crazy. the guardian's headline called it a blunder that stunned number ten downing street and give a gift to the president. mitt the twit. the telegraph that read mitt romney is perhaps the only politician that could start a trip that was devoid of charm anddefensive. boris johnson called him out by name in front of a crowd of 60,000 brits in hyde park .

>> there is a guy called mitt romney who wants to know whether we are ready. are we ready?

>> memo to self. don't make boris johnson mad. the mayor did walk that back a bit saying romney clarified his comment, but he was not alone. the prime minister took a jab at romney , suggesting that the challenges posed are far more complicated than thes romney faced in salt lake city a decade ago.

>> we are holding an olympic games in one of the busiest, most active bustling cities anywhere in the world. of course it's easy if you hold them in the middle of nowhere .

>> the mayor of salt lake city was not happy about that, but he was asked about it early this morning and he was in full walk back mode.

>> i am convinced that the people are ready for the games. in just a few moments all the things politicians say will get swept away because the athletes are taking the stage. the games are about the athletes. they have been highly successful.

>> two things stand out. his trip was designed to be risk-averse putting him in friendly territoriy that should have limited him this opportunity and this was civil-inflected. this was an easy one. romney simply dropped the ball or in his mind told the truth on a gaffe, if you will. the white house couldn't resist getting into the act. jay carney started off yesterday by simply discussing president obama 's security briefing on the olympics . how he feels about london's preparations.

>> the president made it clear he has the utmost confidence in our close friend and ally as they finalize hosting theland on olympics .

>> did the read out have anything to do with what mitt romney said about security?

>> the president had the briefing today.

>> the decision to --

>> i am trying to fill you in on the president's day.

>> it drew a lot of laughter in the room. one more note from the white house and what could be seen as an attempt to up stage the trip to jerusalem. the president signs military cooperation with israel. while that's going on. mitt romney is trying to get his trip back on track by making the rounds with other media. in addition getting response to the british tab lights, matt lauer pushed again on why he didn't plan ahead and get his taxes in order to release more of his returns publicly.

>> why didn't you do that?

>> we laid out exactly what is required by law, all of our financial statements and that in addition two years of tax reports like john mccain put out.

>> you don't think you raised more questions than you answered?

>> we laid out all that is required by law and then some, the same as john mccain .

>> as we have seen in the past, when he wants to show his softer side, he is best helped by his wife, ann. they sat down with piers morgan . mrs. romney making it clear she is a big part of her husband's charm.

>> i will work as hard as i can on the likability piece.

>> he seems like a perfectly likeable chap to me. i don't understand it.

>> we will get over that one.

>> we see romney in his campaign trying to get window into his family where he is funnier and jokes more. after matt lauer asked about her watching her horse compete in the olympics , he offered this interesting anecdote.

>> my sons gave me a box and said if you wear this, mom will pay more attention to you. it was a rubber horse mat.

>> did you wear it?

>> no.

>> although the candidates are on two different continents, here's a look at where the most money is being spent. virginia, ohio, florida, north carolina have multiple markets in the top ten. the roanoke market is at the top. it's a big change from last week's list. take a look between july 16th and 22nd. the colorado marks took all three. colorado springs had been one or two. since last friday's deadly shooting, both have pulled their advertising. that's why colorado is off the current list. for the record, just four markets have remained in the top ten over the last month. no surprise they are in two of the most heavily contested states. roanoke and richmond and tampa and orlando.