This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 25, 2012. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And this a Fox News Alert. Tension reigned in Arizona tonight. President Obama touched down in Phoenix a short time ago and he was greeted by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, but things were far from cordial.

Now, the governor can be seen handing President Obama a handwritten letter inviting him to return to Arizona and to accompany her to the border. But president apparently was not in the mood for pleasantries. Why? President Obama thought that the tarmac meeting was an appropriate time to critique her book, "Scorpions for Breakfast."

Now according to the press pool, the two got into a heated conversation over a passage in the governor's book. Apparently, Obama took issue on how Governor Brewer described their meeting at the White House about the Arizona immigration law back in 2010.

Now the governor was clearly shaken up by the exchange, told the reporters that he walked away before she could finish her sentence and said quote, "I said to him, you know, I have always respected the office of the president and that the book is what the book is. I said that I was sorry that he felt that way. Anyway, we're glad he's here and we'll regroup."

Joining me now as reaction to that and much more, former speaker of the House, presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich.

You know, I'm thinking, you know, if you just look at the Drudge Report and just your -- just one day's worth of attacks and criticisms, you know, leveled by many of your critics in one day, and this one thing has gotten to the president, what does it say about him?

NEWT GINGRICH, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, and the thing that is fascinating when I read the story. You know that Governor Brewer is telling the truth because he acted as arrogantly and as rudely to her on the tarmac as she suggested he had in the Oval Office. That was not the behavior of man who said, gosh, I'm sorry you felt that way.

He's back -- she described him as lecturing her in the Oval Office, and what do we see at the foot of Air Force One. He is lecturing her. So, you know that her version is right and it tells you how thin skinned -- I think how utterly unable to relate to other people that President Obama is. He is terrific in front of a crowd. But at least with Republicans, he seems to have almost no ability to receive incoming information or to listen to the other side.

HANNITY: You know, it's very interesting. Speaking of listening to the other side. First of all, he said last night that America is back. I'm sure you would take issue with that. And then he said we have to follow the example of the military. We all have to work together. Lower the temperature in this town. The same guy who said if they bring a knife to the fight we'd bring a gun. The same guy that said that Republicans want dirty air, dirty water and old people to not have health care. What do you think of the speech overall?

GINGRICH: Well, I thought the speech had a couple of fascinating moments. You know, I don't know if the White House understood then when he calls for 30 percent tax, he was saying he would be doubling the capital gains tax. Now, if you double the capital gains tax you are going to crash the stock market. You are going to affect every pension fund in the country. You are going weaken every 401(k). You are going to drive capital out of the country. You are going to stop investments.

I mean, this is -- if they meant it, I'm not sure he understood it. But, if he met genuinely 30 percent minimum tax that would mean that he is prescribing a decade of unemployment. And I think that is very, very sobering, frankly, when you look at that.

HANNITY: Alright. Let's go to the comments of former of speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. And she basically saying she knows something. This is not the first time she has said this. This is now the second time. "We were locked in the room, four of us, I have information" -- there might be issues I think involving ethics for her, but we will put that aside for minute and we will show your good friend, Nancy Pelosi, what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN, JAN. 24)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What goes through your mind, the possibility that is more real today that it was a week or a month ago, that he would be the Republican nominee and that you could come back here next January or next February with a President Gingrich?

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF., HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Let me just say this. That will never happen.

KING: Why?

PELOSI: He is not going to be president of the United States. That is not going to happen. Let me just make my prediction and stand by it, it isn't going to happen.

KING: Why are you so sure?

PELOSI: There is something I know. The Republicans, if they choose to nominate him that is their prerogative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Second time she said this. Last time she referred to the fact that she was, you know, involved in these ethics investigation -- you are smiling. Why are you laughing?

GINGRICH: Because this morning I said, you know, she ought to put up or shut up. And this afternoon she said -- well, she was just referring to my public record and my policies. She backed down totally. But frankly, Sean, I would much rather be attacked by Nancy Pelosi rather than endorsed by her. So, I was kind a grateful that she took the right position for left-wing Democrat.

HANNITY: Now you are really regretting -- and I asked you about this when you did that ad with her on the green issue.

GINGRICH: I knew you were going to go there.

HANNITY: You did say it was stupid and you said it was a mistake. Alright. So, alright.

Let me go to -- Vice president Biden has weighed in. I got a lot of good quotes for you because you are -- apparently a lot of people, you're a very popular these days and a lot of people talking about you. So, let me say Vice President Biden responds to your food stamp comment meaning Obama is the food stamp president. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GMA"/ABC)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's hard to respond to Newt with those kinds of ridiculous statements. But, look. The fact is that for 23 months people have been getting, the private sector have been hiring people. The president talked about what we do think is fair. It's fair to give the middle class a fighting shot here.

We have a different priority set than Newt Gingrich and apparently and our Republican colleagues have.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, CO-HOST: You called the former speaker's statements ridiculous. Do you think he is calling racial politics when he calls President Obama a food stamp president?

BIDEN: You know, it's hard to tell what it means. I'm not being facetious, but it's hard to tell what Newt means. He says a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: There are 12 million more people since Barack Obama has become president that are on food stamps. That's just factually accurate. Why is it become such an explosive term and issue in your mind?

GINGRICH: I think that the left is terrified that we will begin to communicate effectively how destructive their policies are, how much they deprive people of opportunity. And if you contrast a paycheck candidate, which is what I want to be, with a food stamp president, it becomes very hard for them to win re-election.

Now, the fact is that Barack Obama believes in big government. He believes in high taxes. He has policies that kill jobs. He just killed jobs with his veto of the pipeline in the Midwest. So, you've got a president who is I think in many ways committed to policies that put people on food stands. And they don't want to get into this kind of an argument because they know that they will lose the argument because overwhelmingly, Americans would rather be at work earning a paycheck.

And let me remind you that their policies, the president may go in and say everything is fine. I was campaigning in South Carolina last week, very high unemployment levels. We're in Florida now, very high unemployment levels, very big housing problems. And for the president to suggest that things are OK, is a sign how out of touch everyday Americans the administration now is.

HANNITY: The campaign is getting very heated. South Carolina, I guess it's it really goes back to Iowa. And you had, you know, 10, $14 million whatever thrown at ads at you by a Super PAC. You said I was either going to get out or unilaterally disarm and get our or I was going to fight back.

So now it's going back and forth. In just the last week, Mitt Romney has said you are a Washington insider. That you resigned in disgrace. That you are influence peddler, an inside player. And he was on the program last night. And I asked him about this because it is getting personal. And I wanted to give you a chance to respond tonight and your reaction.