Rep. Haley Stevens sat down with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Sunday night, Nov. 1, 2026, for a 15-minute interview that quickly became one of the most talked-about political moments of the midterm season. The Michigan Democrat tried to explain why she had abruptly switched her Senate endorsement from fellow Democrat Abdul El-Sayed to Republican Mike Rogers just two days before the election. Cooper pressed for a clear answer. Stevens repeatedly avoided giving one. Political journalist Aaron Rupar shared a clip of the exchange on X and wrote, “OOOOOF this Haley Stevens interview on CNN is BRUTAL”. The interview drew widespread criticism, triggered staff resignations, and left even fellow Democrats expressing concern.
Stevens Shakes Up Michigan Senate Race With Rogers Endorsement
The story began earlier on Sunday, Nov. 1, when Stevens announced she was backing Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. The move came just two days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections and marked a sharp reversal from her previous position.
Stevens had lost Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August 2026 by a narrow margin. After the primary, she had endorsed El-Sayed and appeared with him at a unity event. Tensions between the two had been building for weeks over an advertisement produced by a super PAC supporting El-Sayed. The ad linked American support for Israel to rising grocery prices. El-Sayed publicly distanced himself from the ad on Saturday, but the damage was already done.
Stevens appeared alongside Rogers at a church service in Detroit on Sunday morning. She then posted a video on social media announcing her endorsement. “I do not belong in Abdul’s campaign,” Stevens said in the video. “I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses”. Rogers said he was “honored” to have her support and called it “courage in politics in America today”.
Anderson Cooper Presses Stevens on What Changed Overnight
The interview with Cooper aired on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° on Sunday night. Cooper opened by asking Stevens directly what had changed between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Rep. Debbie Dingell, a senior Michigan Democrat, had said publicly that Stevens assured her in a phone call Saturday night that she would not endorse Rogers. Cooper wanted to know why Stevens changed her mind.
Stevens began with a personal explanation. “Well, look, this is just a weight off my shoulders, OK?” she said. “Abdul has been getting angrier and angrier. I was trying to help, I endorsed him”. She claimed that many Democrats wanted to support El-Sayed but felt pushed away by his campaign’s tone. “They’re just being told, ‘Hey, this is a party you don’t belong in,’ or ‘This is a campaign you don’t belong in’”.
Cooper did not accept the answer. He pointed out that El-Sayed had not suddenly become angrier between Saturday night and Sunday morning. “So I mean something changed your mind,” Cooper said. Stevens replied that she had spent time alone with her thoughts and had been “writing things out.” She said she woke up “clear-eyed, fresh and focused on what was in my heart”.
Cooper then asked if she had talked to anyone or had a “long night of the soul.” Stevens disputed the timing of Dingell’s account. “Anderson, you certainly weren’t on the phone with me at midnight, and I don’t think I was on the phone either,” she said. She added that she had “great respect” for Dingell but did not directly confirm or deny Dingell’s version of the call.
Stevens Struggles to Explain Her Decision
The interview grew more tense as Cooper pressed Stevens on her past statements about Rogers. He reminded her that in August 2026, she had posted on social media that Rogers would be “another rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda” and warned against giving “MAGA another Senate seat in November”. Cooper asked why that had changed.
Stevens did not answer the question directly. She turned the focus back to El-Sayed. “Well, why is it OK to have the Democratic Party, and a top nominee, ejecting—you know, this type, or injecting, rather, this type of anger and lack of kindness?” she said. Cooper repeated that he was asking about her change of mind, not about El-Sayed’s campaign. “It’s actually not, it’s just a question about why you would change your mind,” he said.
At one point, Stevens said she had not cast her vote yet. Cooper asked, “So you might change your mind again?” Stevens insisted her decision was final. “My mind is made up,” she said. “I’m rock solid, I’m an independent woman, I made my decision, I still love my party a whole lot”.
Cooper eventually voiced his frustration. “You’re not really answering any of my questions, so it’s somewhat frustrating,” he told her. Stevens responded by saying it sounded like Cooper was upset with her. Cooper said he was not upset, but repeated that her answers were not addressing his questions.
Aaron Rupar and Other Commentators React to the Interview
The interview quickly went viral, and political commentators responded with sharp criticism. Aaron Rupar, a journalist known for sharing and commenting on political clips, posted multiple reactions on X. He shared a 30-second clip of the exchange and wrote, “OOOOOF this Haley Stevens interview on CNN is BRUTAL”. In another post, he shared the full 15-minute interview and called it “One of the most bizarre and incoherent political interviews I can recall”. He also wrote, “My god, Haley Stevens is an absolute trainwreck. What is this?”.
Other commentators joined in. Jon Favreau, co-host of Pod Save America, wrote that “Nearly every explanation she gives here is dishonest nonsense” and called the interview “the most uncomfortable interview I’ve ever seen”. Keith Olbermann posted, “How many times can someone end their career in one 24-hour stretch?”. Tahra Hoops, senior director of economic analysis at the Chamber of Progress, wrote, “Holy heck, this is bad. Painfully obvious that her entire team left her as she was NOT prepared for this”.
Debbie Dingell Says She Was Assured Stevens Would Not Back Rogers
Rep. Debbie Dingell appeared on CNN immediately after Stevens’ interview. She was visibly stunned. “That was one of the most painful interviews I have ever watched,” Dingell said. She confirmed that Stevens had assured her on Saturday night that she would not endorse Rogers. “Yes, she did,” Dingell said when Cooper asked directly. “Multiple times”.
Dingell said she had been concerned about Stevens for the past week. She described the situation as a “distraction” and said voters were more focused on the cost of living than on Stevens’ endorsement.
Staff Resignations Follow the Endorsement
Hours after Stevens announced her endorsement, her chief of staff, Justin German, resigned. German had served as Stevens’ chief of staff for eight years. In a statement, he said many members of her team had also resigned. “We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens’ decision to support Mike Rogers,” German said. “This election is too important to sow division or stand on the sidelines”.
Stevens’ communications director, Logan Basch, also resigned, according to multiple reports. The resignations came as a direct response to the endorsement, which caught many in her office off guard.
Trump Praises Stevens as ‘Brave’ and Welcomes Her to GOP
President Donald Trump praised Stevens for her endorsement. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump called the move “BIG” and “very brave.” He said he had called Stevens to thank her. “She did the right thing,” Trump said. When asked if he wanted Stevens to switch parties, Trump said, “I’d love to have her”.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also praised Stevens. He said he had sent her a note praising her courage and described her as someone who loved Michigan. Johnson said Stevens and her fiancé had received threats following her decision. Trump went further, calling El-Sayed a “jihadist” and suggesting Stevens was in danger because of her endorsement.
The Feud With Abdul El-Sayed Explained
The tensions between Stevens and El-Sayed had been building for months. After losing the August 2026 primary by about 14,000 votes, Stevens initially endorsed El-Sayed and appeared with him at a unity event. But the relationship soured over an advertisement produced by a super PAC supporting El-Sayed. The ad linked American support for Israel to rising grocery prices, a message that Stevens found offensive.
El-Sayed distanced himself from the ad on Saturday, but Stevens had already decided to withdraw her support. El-Sayed told reporters that Stevens was not welcome on his campaign trail. “None of this matters,” he said when asked about her endorsement of Rogers. Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, had also said publicly that he would vote for Rogers, citing El-Sayed’s rhetoric about Israel.
What the Polls and Fundraising Show
The endorsement did not appear to hurt El-Sayed’s campaign. Since Stevens switched her support to Rogers, El-Sayed raised $1.2 million, his second-largest single-day total of the campaign. A New York Times poll showed El-Sayed leading Rogers by 11 points ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
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The interview aired on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. Michigan voters head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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