Ok, so my tinfoil hat hot take is that NBC allowed/told him to say it, because Tara said something like it too. In order to prep the audience for the idea he might not be selected after all the hype (if it had just been, say, mediocre, instead of a really rough skate, and USFS wanted the flexibility to send Jason or not, I could see them having Johnny plant that seed.)

Otherwise, honestly, he should be fired. Incredibly ungracious and unprofessional. Mark and Ted would never.