Rep. Haley Stevens struggled to give a direct explanation for endorsing Republican Mike Rogers instead of fellow Democrat Abdul El-Sayed during an interview on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” The exchange aired Sunday night and lasted about 15 minutes.
Cooper began by citing Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell’s claim that she had spoken with Stevens around midnight, when Stevens reportedly said she would not endorse Rogers. He asked what had changed.
Stevens responded that El-Sayed had been becoming “angrier and angrier” and said endorsing Rogers had been a relief. However, she did not directly answer Cooper’s question, even after he repeated it several times.
Cooper then raised El-Sayed’s reported acknowledgment that he did not support an alleged anti-Semitic advertisement funded by an outside group on his behalf. Cooper suggested that this was the type of response Stevens had wanted from El-Sayed and questioned why she still chose to support Rogers.
The discussion continued with both of them challenging each other, but Cooper was unable to obtain a clear answer about what prompted Stevens to change her position. The interview drew criticism from Stevens’ Democratic base, according to the report.
Sources: TMZ.