In what can only be described as a remarkable moment of television, Rep. Haley Stevens took to CNN late Sunday to explain her endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers — but the interview quickly dissolved into a confrontational exchange that had the next guest stunned.
“This was one of the most painful interviews I’ve ever watched,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who said she has been concerned about Stevens for a week.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper made several attempts to nail down exactly what caused Stevens to switch her support from Abdul El-Sayed to Rogers since she had previously endorsed the Democratic nominee following her primary loss to him for the Senate seat from Michigan. But Stevens repeatedly deflected and referenced past scrutiny El-Sayed faced on the campaign trail — long before she was scheduled to appear with him on Sunday before her apparent, last-minute change in allegiance.
“It sounds like you’re upset with me too, Anderson,” Stevens said.
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“No, I’m not,” Cooper replied. “You’re not really answering any of my questions, so it’s somewhat frustrating.”
Panelists, including Democratic strategists David Axelrod and Van Jones, raised concerns about her mental state after watching her struggle in the interview with Cooper.
“I thought that was very, very sad, and you know, Haley Stevens is obviously struggling, and I think trying to find her way through something that she hadn’t fully thought through,” Axelrod said after the interview.
Stevens described her decision to endorse Rogers as simply “where [she] was” after reviewing things about El-Sayed’s campaign.
“This is just a weight off my shoulders,” Stevens said. “Abdul has been getting angrier and angrier. I was trying to help, and I endorsed him. That ad was very painful.”
The ad Stevens referenced was run by an outside group linking the high costs for American consumers to U.S. aid for Israel and appeared to be at the center of the political fallout between El-Sayed and Stevens.
Cooper also pressed Stevens on reports that much of her staff had quit Sunday, citing her decision to support Rogers, but Stevens attributed the mass exodus to the natural “transition” that happens during a member of Congress’ last few weeks in office.
“There’s just a couple weeks of lame duck left here,” Stevens said. “These are great individuals who I care a lot about, and certainly, they’re free to share their views on this. I am not trying to upset anyone.”
Stevens told Cooper she had heard positively from other Democrats since switching her endorsement, but Dingell said Steven’s decision left many people “really stunned.” Dingell also confirmed that Stevens told her multiple times that she did not plan to endorse Rogers, but noted that she was “worried about her all last week.”
“She’s a human being,” Dingell added. “I’ve had multiple conversations with her. I’m far from being the only one that has, and I’m very concerned that this has all become a distraction.”
El-Sayed said earlier that he was focused on more important things than Stevens’ change of heart.
“This is a state of 10 million people who deserve a lot better from the government,” El-Sayed told reporters outside of Northend Church of God in Christ in Detroit. “I’m a lot more focused on the 9,999,998 that are not the ones you guys are talking about.”
President Donald Trump celebrated Stevens’ endorsement during his rally in Iowa on Sunday, calling the Democratic congresswoman “brave” for breaking party lines to back the Republican.
“I’d love her to join the Republican Party,” Trump said. “Actually, I think that could happen maybe. But she showed great and almost unprecedented loyalty to the great people of Michigan, and that’s another important election for us.”
When Cooper asked Stevens about her reaction to hearing the strong words of support from Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), the Democratic congresswoman noted that that she voted to impeach the president twice and took a dig at Johnson by saying that “he’s not been up to all too much.”
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