It looks to me like he didn't mean it how they took it but realized what they were laughing at after a second.
I got the impression with all that studdering that it hit him and his mind was racing trying to figure out how to dig his way out of this one. It would have been priceless if he realized it and cracked up.
I told this before but years ago, I had a good friend that was the local weather man for one of the TV stations. I'd go down to the studio a lot of times and sit on another set waiting for them to finish up. On this particular night, he's finishing up his part and says tomorrow's high will be 68. The anchor is a hot little babe and she says something to the effect of, "Oh I just love 68. I could do 68 every single day. It just feels so good."
Even I caught it and as soon as they went to commercial, he comes running over to me and says, "If the forecast was for 69 tomorrow, I'd be fired right now because I would have lost it right then and there."