What To Know
- Anderson Cooper pressed Rep. Haley Stevens on her last-minute endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers over fellow Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.
- Stevens did not clearly explain her reversal or her earlier criticism of Rogers.
- Viewers called the tense interview a ‘train wreck,’ ‘painful,’ and ‘deeply embarrassing.’
Viewers have branded Anderson Cooper’s interview with Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) as one of the “biggest train wrecks ever” after she repeatedly dodged questions about her decision to turn against fellow Democrat and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Cooper spoke with Stevens on CNN’s pre-election special on Sunday night (November 1), where he asked about her last-minute endorsement of El-Sayed’s opponent, Republican Mike Rogers. The news anchor wanted to know if it was true that Stevens told Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) 12 hours before that she wouldn’t be endorsing Rogers.
“If that is true, what changed between then and this morning?” Cooper asked, per Mediaite.
Stevens described it as taking “a weight off my shoulders,” adding, “Abdul has been getting angrier and angrier. I was trying to help, and I endorsed him.” She went on to say that it was “very painful” to be told to “stay away” from El-Sayed’s campaign events.
“I woke up this morning… clear-eyed, fresh and focused on what was in my heart and that’s that,” she stated.
Cooper pressed on, asking, “What changed from the phone conversation you had with Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and waking up refreshed in the morning? Did you talk to anybody? Did you have a long night of the soul? Were you up all night? Did you have dream? What happened?”
Stevens talked around her phone call with Dingle, saying, “I wasn’t on the phone, I think, that late… It might not have been midnight when I spoke with her. But I was there, and just alone with my thoughts. I was writing things out.”
Cooper also confronted Stevens with a social media post she made back in August, in which she wrote, “‘Mike Rogers will be another rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda. We can’t afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November.’”
“Why is it okay now? Why can you afford now to give MAGA another Senate seat in November?” Cooper asked.
“Well, why is it okay to have the Democratic Party and a top nominee… injecting… this type of anger and lack of kindness?” Stevens answered as Cooper tried to interject. At one point, Stevens said, “It sounds like you’re upset with me too, Anderson!”
“No, I’m not,” Cooper replied. “You’re not really answering any of my questions, so it’s somewhat frustrating.”
The interview only got more awkward from there, with several silences in between the questions. “It sounds like last night was a really big night where a lot built up what the turning point was,” Cooper continued.
“That’s your assumption, Anderson,” Stevens fired back. “I mean, that’s your editorializing. I certainly didn’t say that.”
“But you were willing to be at a campaign event for him,” Cooper retorted. “You wanted to be at a public event with him up until some point, I guess, yesterday. And it’s just an interesting change. And I think a lot of people are curious to try to understand it.”
Another lengthy pause passed before Stevens eventually asked, “Was that a question, Anderson?”
“No, I wanted to see if you wanted to fill in the silence,” Cooper said. “But you don’t…”
Viewers reacted to the car crash interview on social media, with one X user writing, “One of the biggest train wrecks of an interview I have ever seen. She seems legitimately unwell.”
One of the biggest train wrecks of an interview I have ever seen.
She seems legitimately unwell.
— Adam Carlson (@admcrlsn) November 2, 2026
“This is the craziest s*** ever,” said one commenter, while another compared it to an “SNL skit.”
“Haley Stevens delivers one of the most incoherent, self-contradictory interviews I’ve ever seen,” another added. “She fails to offer a single consistent reason for opposing Abdul El-Sayed or an explanation as to why she lied to everyone in her party. Did she not think this through?”
A deeply embarrassing and unserious person and politician. This would be disqualifying for a high schooler, let alone someone who is supposed to represent millions of people. Just an absolute train wreck of a person.
— Zito (@_Zeets) November 2, 2026
Another wrote, “A deeply embarrassing and unserious person and politician. This would be disqualifying for a high schooler, let alone someone who is supposed to represent millions of people. Just an absolute train wreck of a person.”
“This is exceptionally painful and weird,” one commenter said.
“I have honestly never seen anything like this full interview. It’s like watching a horror movie in slow motion. She can’t answer a single question and just keeps coming unglued,” wrote another.