Exclusive Mike Rogers interview on surprise endorsement; Dingell, McMorrow talk about fallout

No, you didn't miss work. Welcome to a special Sunday edition of the show covering all things people, power, and politics. This, my friends, is The Pulse. I'm Rupert Raj. We planned this show a couple months ago, obviously with no way of knowing the remarkable day we've ended up having. Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a Democrat who tried for her party's nomination in the race for Senate, endorsing Republican Mike Rogers in the race just hours ago. Former Congressman Rogers is live with us in Studio C tonight, along with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and State Senator Mallory McBurrow, talking about how all of this could affect things for the Dems with just hours to go until the rest of the folks in Michigan cast their ballots. But let's begin by getting you up to speed with what's happened today, because there's been a major twist in the race for Senate. And follow me here. More than two months ago, you'll remember, Democrat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed beat Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the primary. Stevens initially said she would help El-Sayed win the general election. Let's take you back to Friday. We reported that Stevens and El-Sayed would campaign together. What a difference 48 hours makes. The same week Stevens' fiance said he'd vote for Rogers, Stevens says she'll appear with El-Sayed at the event. Called on Al-Sayed to condemn an ad by an independent group linking U.S. support for Israel to high gas prices. Al-Sayed said he didn't agree with the ad and made it clear his campaign didn't create it. Saying Stevens, quote, seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago. A source in the Al-Sayed campaign confirmed Stevens was disinvited from all future events. And Congresswoman Debbie Dingell also said she asked Stevens to stay away. Then today, Congresswoman Stevens standing side by side with Republican Rodgers announcing she's endorsing and voting for him, not Al Sayed. Stevens made it clear that she supports other Democrats on the ticket, but this issue goes beyond her party, while Rodgers welcomed the support. Take a listen. Abdul made very clear that I was not welcome in his campaign, that he didn't need me there, that he didn't want me there. And at some point, you've got to look. And who's standing for country? 90% of the votes I'm gonna cast are gonna be for Democrats. My vote for Senate, I am just one vote as is every Michigander. My vote for Senate is gonna be with Mike Rogers. And I will tell you why, because we have to stand with country. We can't stand with hate, we can't stand with Hassan Piker. I'm honored to have I have Haley Stevens' support today. I'm honored to have earned that vote. When I got the call this morning, obviously it's probably not the day we anticipated going forward today. But when we decided this would be good worship together today, I'll just give you a little bit of flavor about this. We talked about America, what was better for Americans, what was better for the future of our state by bringing people together. Dr. El-Sayed spoke with reporters after Stevens announced that endorsement of Rogers. He told me that he wanted to keep the conversation focused on issues, not the endorsement. But not surprisingly, he faced questions about it anyway. Here's what he had to say. I have a sense that you all are here today because of the decisions of somebody who's not here right now. Am I right about that? Indeed, sir. But I'm just going to tell you, this is a state of 10 million people who deserve a lot better from their government. I'm a lot more focused on the 9,999,998 that are not the ones you guys are talking about. They pay too much in gas. They pay too much in groceries. They're worried about the quality of their kids' schools. They're worried about the quality of the air and the water that they drink. That's what we should be focused on. But she betrayed the Democratic Party. At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens. I think about the, like I said, the 9,999,998 people who are not those two. Cuz you know what? I'm just less interested in the politics of it all. A quote, highly respected Democrat. He went on to say this in a full screen graphic that we have here. Her following is huge and the level of respect from the people of Michigan, especially our African-American and Jewish populations, is virtually unparalleled. Haley said what few people are willing to say. She showed great and almost unprecedented loyalty to the great people of Michigan with what she did. It's a thing called bravery, and few people have it. Like just displayed by Congresswoman Haley Stevens, President Donald Trump, in the last few hours on Truth Social. As you might expect, there's been a lot of pushback, though, from within the Democratic Party, including Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel, Jr., who had this to say, Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future. And Stephen's chief of staff, Justin German, announced he and other staffers resigned in the wake of this announcement. He went on to say this, this election is too important to sow division or stand on the sidelines. We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens' decision to support Mike Rogers. Those of us who are Michigan voters are supporting Democrats up and down the ballot and have been working all season to elect strong Democratic majorities to the House and Senate. We will continue to do so. Now, we need to squeeze in a break in just a second here, but we want to remind you that you're about to see very consequential interviews, perhaps the most important of these. We'll hear right from Congresswoman Dingell and State Senator McMurrow in a little more than 10 minutes. But up next, Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is live with us discussing this endorsement. You're watching a special Sunday edition of The Pulse on Fox 2. Back now on this special Sunday edition of The Pulse, covering all things people, power, and politics. Here to discuss the endorsement he received from Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens is Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. And Congressman, it's good to see you. Thanks for joining us here today. Great to have you. All right. Great to be here. Let me try that again. Well, no, listen, it's been a long road for both you and Al-Sayed and the others running for governor. Of course, it's been a, this is crunch time. How did you find out about this? Any endorsement from Haley Stevens today? We got a phone call this morning and there's been a lot of unfortunate activity. I think Abdul discarded Haley Stevens, was rude to Haley Stevens, has been rude I think to many in the African American community, at least that's what they're telling me. And I think this just boiled over when he disinvited her to the campaign event that was supposed to happen today, and basically said, don't need you and don't need your supporters. I just, hey, I was shocked by it. I thought it was pretty lowball politics. And I think she picked up the phone today after having lots of apparently conversations with a lot of people and pick up the phone and said, hey. I heard you're going to church. You want some company. And so that was, I mean, we were very welcome for it. I'm very welcome to have her support. She got almost 70%, 67% of the African-American vote in the city of Detroit. I am welcoming her support because of the hate that's been going on. I mean, the most vile ad, only thing she asked. Was could you please condemn this ad that I think is the most racist ad I've seen maybe in my political lifetime. Blaming one group of people for your high prices, I've never seen anything like it. It's dangerous. And she said, listen, just disavow that ad, let's move on and I can still be there. He basically said, don't bother showing up. Boy, I think that just backed her in a corner and we've been in Detroit, we've been talking to Detroiters. I was glad to have her support. Let me ask you a question about the condemnation that's being asked of Al Sayed quite a bit when it comes to associations, when it comes to these ads. This particular ad wasn't made by the Al Sayed campaign. There are packs out there, you and I have talked about this, they come up with all kinds of nasty messaging on your side and his side. You're not asked to condemn everything every time someone shows up and this is so different. Is it? Oh my God. Why is it different? Because you're condemning a race of people. The ad was. The ad was condemning a race of people. It's made by Hassan Piker, who is his surrogate, who he brought into the state, who he put in front of our kids, who they, by his own staffer's admission, still talk to each other. He's lied to the press about that before. It's his uncle, I believe. But it is his uncle. This guy's his uncle. And that's the relationship and how they got to the ad. And this is an easy thing to do, right? You're talking about... condemning a race of people. I don't care if it's two or 3% of our population, it's wrong and it's causing real, his language is causing problems when young women have to hide their Star of Davids to walk across a college campus because they're getting harassed for being Jewish or young men have to wear ball caps over their yarmulkes. Who wants, I don't want to live in that America, I wore the uniform of the United States so you could pray any way that you want. And we thank you for your service and your son also has served as well. So I know it's a history of serving our country and no one would ever take that sentiment away. However, I do want to ask you the question about condemnation, if we're gonna ask him to condemn these things, no one's asking you to condemn Jake Lang for showing up with a Mike Rogers sign. So the good news is I did condemn Jake Lang. It's an easy thing to do. He is too aggressive and we've condemned it and that's what we said, let's go. You gotta step up here because you're attacking a race of people on top of these other events where your language is causing angst and anxiety and fear. In a community right here. Wrong is wrong, whether it be Jake Lang or Hasan Piker's uncle, whoever the heck it is. Whoever it is. None of you guys should want that. No. Let's talk about the issues that will move the meter on the polls. Let's just face it. The majority of people who are going to vote for Mike Rogers have already voted for Mike Rogers. The majority of people have already voted for Al Sayed, who have wanted to. And now the remaining people who intend to vote for you or him will go on Tuesday. The undecided is a small number. What do you hope to do in the next few days to convince people that you're different? Then perhaps what they imagined or what they've been told about you, what are some things that you wish that people knew about you? Well, first of all, the Democrats for Rogers is real. It's not a campaign gimmick thing. It's got its own life. It's taken on its own life. People are worried that Abdul is too extreme. I worry he's too extreme. I don't think we can afford his Green New Deal policies. And I don't think his ideology that's kind of brushing up against this Muslim Brotherhood is really a good thing to send to the United States Senate. There's eight Muslim countries that have banned them. Muslim Brotherhood. His dishonesty about all of that is concerning to me and it's concerning to a lot. Even though he disavowed it? He has not disavowed it. This is- Softly perhaps not the- My gosh. You wanted him to disavow it, but he did disavow it. You ought to at least give it three sentences. He doesn't even do that. My argument is this is that serious to continue to dismiss it. He hasn't really disavowed it. Here's what we're doing. We're in the city of Detroit. We're talking to voters there about the housing problem. We're going to stop talking about how many homes we tear down in Detroit and how many we build. That is building a coalition of people who want to get this done. Same with education. 15% of eighth graders in the city of Detroit can read in the eighth grade. That is a sentence to poverty or prison, and we're going to break that chain. We've had great conversations with people in Detroit, in the neighborhoods, in the pastor community, and that's what's different about About this work, this is gonna be a seismic shift. In the way people view how we're gonna fix problems. We're gonna talk about this after we're elected. We've got solutions for housing. We've got solutions to get kids reading again. We have solutions to get kids back in high school so they can get connected to the skilled trades. We have solutions and we're in these communities talking about it. It's not the sloganeering. That's a different style of campaigning. That's what I think people aren't seeing and we're making headway. That's why Democrats for Rogers in the city, the last thing. Last thing going out of our office, Democrats for Rogers Lansing. Mike, let me ask you a question about the Democrats for Rogers. We know as long as politics have been around, there's been money around, right? Are there people being paid to say they're Democrats for Rogers that are putting up signs and being in these ads? No, not that I'm aware of. I mean, I'd be shocked if that were true. These are people who are concerned about their community, are interested in having somebody who shows up and is doing the work in the community. I just had another one tonight, we were at an event earlier tonight. He came as a young black man and he came up and said, I just wanna appreciate, thanks for being in the community, I've noticed. You've earned my vote, and it's just that, people aren't used to seeing a Republican in the city of Detroit, in the neighborhoods I've been going to. There's a pastor said, check my notes, there hadn't been a Republican here in 50 years. Got a great reception, why? We're talking about problems in the city, like creating Grocery stores closer to senior populations so they don't have to drive out of the city. They call it a food desert. These are real problems that people are talking about and we have solutions and we have ways to get this done. And listen, there's a lot of Democrats that have come out. This isn't just Haley Stevens today was I think the biggest one and the most impactful one. But you think about the former chair of the Democrat Party, Lon Johnson came out and said I won't vote for her. And there's about 10 of these. We only have about 40 seconds left. Parting message about President Trump, for those out there who are Republicans who don't support the war in Iran, who think that their gas prices are fueled, that it's all up because of that. And I know you said that you've talked to the White House about this. If you become a senator- Mm-hm. How hard do you plan to press back against President Trump? We're going to push him back. Matter of fact, I had the occasion to talk to him, and I said, man, this thing's got to wrap up. You know, when I get there, I'm going to be beating the desk. What did he say to you? He said, I think it'll be done before you stick your arm up in the air and take the oath. I hope that's true. If not, I'll work with him when I get there. Gas prices are too high, but here's the difference. When you're a Green New Deal, Bernie Sanders, AOC, come in. They have huge, huge, huge, huge cost increases coming your way. $2,000 for utility costs per home per year and about 20 cents a gallon. When the war is done, you want somebody there working to get these prices down as fast as you can, not this big Green New Deal that Bernie Sanders gave a million bucks and AOC who gave a million bucks. The Green New Deal may be pricey, but the war is really, really pricey. That's going to end. That's the difference. We're going to get that to end. Democrats are about to get it. We'll see what happens next. Mike Rogers, final stretch. We thank you for your time here tonight. Thanks so much. Thanks for being with us. Appreciate it. Pulse. Thanks. We're turning to what this means for the Democratic Party after the break. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and State Senator Mallory McMurrow with that part of the conversation. You're watching a special edition of The Pulse on Fox 2. Fox 2 is your home for politics, and that's why we're here tonight. Welcome back to a special Sunday edition of The Pulse. Here to dive into Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens' endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, and State Senator Mallory McMurrow, who, of course, ran for Senate as well. And we thank you both for joining us here tonight. I want to begin by asking Congresswoman Dingell the question. You were on the network just the other day saying that it was me who called and said, you know what, Haley, it's time to step aside. How did that call go and what exactly happened? So look, I'm gonna be really honest here, this was my idea. Haley had been telling me all week she was gonna be part of the Democratic ticket. And I worry about all my girlfriends, anybody will tell you that. I know she had worked hard and she was close to Jim Clyburn. I knew he was coming in and I said, let's all do this event together. By Friday, one, the national press had turned it into whatever it had turned into. And I was worried about Haley by Friday. There clearly was a lot of stress on her. I spent a lot of time talking to her. So I'm the one that said to her Friday night, Haley, this has become a distraction. You should not come. Jim Clyburn was coming in to campaign with Abdul. Talk to the black voters about why it's so important that they vote for Abdul. But Congresswoman, there's 67% of the people in the city of Detroit who voted for Haley Stevens in that primary against Al-Sayed. 67% of the people that could have heard her stand shoulder to shoulder with Clyburn and others. Wouldn't that be good? Let me be very blunt. What you saw today is part of what I was seeing all week. I think she has been emotionally... Look, I... I wanna focus on what the issues are, and that's all we're gonna do from now until Tuesday is to do that. And we'll get to the issues in a moment, but I do wanna ask you, I mean, she's very publicly engaged to someone named Jason Turkish, who is now a Roger supporter. There was some reporting in Gonger that indicated that former Governor Blanchard was sitting with them at a dinner just a few days back saying he was working her over. But then Governor Blinken Blanchard went on to say something snapped in her. People are concerned about her and her state. Are you concerned, Mallory? I am. You know, I've known Haley for a long time. And I don't know her fiancé. I don't. But to see... Him out there so publicly, I mean, I can only speak for myself, but my husband and I talked about this, and my husband said if he ever tried to speak for me the way that we see happening now, he's like, you would leave me. Sure. Yeah. It's hard to watch. It is. Is it hard for you to watch as well, Congresswoman Dingell? And we'll get to the issues. I just want to talk about this. Yeah, it is. It's very hard. Kayleigh Stephens told me at midnight last night this was all a rumor and was not true. That she would go with Rogers. Correct. And then five hours later, she's standing shoulder to shoulder. She texted me at 7:45 watching you on MSNBC. Hard, hard, hard. And by the way, I talked to, look, I'm just upset. I'm very concerned. It's sad, but I don't want to be distracted anymore. But what I said on CNN, she scripted with me and approved last night. Let's talk about the issues because they are awfully important. The personality clashes and all the other things that we're talking about. Media folks and politicos are more interested in than the people at home. You heard Mike Rogers just a minute ago running for the seat that you all so vied for. What concerns you and what do you think El-Sayed could do better in your mind? So it's been a fascinating day because I think to Congresswoman Dingell's point, This has become a distraction. My phone was buzzing all day from reporters from all across the country asking about this. And we were at church this morning in my district, and I spent a few minutes before the service started talking to one of the elders who, you know, she said to me, and she was really scared about it. She said, what do we do to stop this president? Gas prices are through the roof, groceries are through the roof. He's trying to take away our rights to vote. You see him and the DOJ already laying the groundwork, whether it's in Alaska or in California to try to disrupt or challenge or block. The results, if they don't like them, that's what's on the line. That's what I'm hearing from people. My district is the most diverse Senate district in the state. It's northwest Detroit through Birmingham. And no matter where I am, people are concerned about, can I afford to stay in my house? The number of calls to my office with people who are facing eviction have gone up. We're about to see 200,000 Michiganders lose their health care. That's what I'm hearing, not about this. Congresswoman, you are literally in the chambers where it all happens all the time. You know that one person can't pass Medicare for all. One person can't lower prices for all. And one person certainly can't end a war even if they wanted to. One person can't. 99 other people in that room. Does it concern you or at least give you reason to pause when you hear some of the aspirational messaging from Abdul El-Sayed's camp about? What the world should look like and how you know it actually goes in those hallowed chambers? I believe that if you don't have a vision, you're never going to get there. And when you're talking about one vote, I'm going to go to, I agree with everything. Mallory just said, I want to talk about the Supreme Court. One vote. We are likely going to have two openings on the Supreme Court for the next two years. This is a Supreme Court that is denying black voters. They're trying to make it difficult for black people to vote. They have gone in and done redistricting. They've eliminated minority seats. And who do you want voting on Supreme Court nominees? Mike Rogers or Abdul El-Sayed? The connections that the Rogers camp has made to El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood, widely published, he has disavowed it, even if so quietly and perhaps not broadly enough. Does it concern you at all that that could be a distraction in this campaign? And do you believe that people should care about that? It's beyond a distraction. They are running the most bigoted, hateful, Islamophobic campaign. I've ever seen. I got a mailer to my house, which first of all, the fact that it came to me means their targeting is abysmal. But it was just a picture of Abdul next to a picture of the Twin Towers. The message just seems to be, don't trust this guy because of his name, because he's brown, because he's a different religion. And I'm in an interfaith marriage myself. We deal with a lot of these conversations. It's disgusting. It is disgusting in a state as Beautifully diverse as Michigan to say that. Everything you're going through right now is because you should be afraid of somebody. It is repulsive, and we have to reject it. It's been fascinating to watch Mike Rogers point out health care costs are too high, but this guy's a Muslim, as if there is some kind of a connection. Congresswoman, health care costs are too high. 30 seconds left. Medicare for all. I know that's a big thing he's running on, so I'm asking you the question. Is it feasible? I'm the sponsor of Medicare for all in the House. We first introduced universal health care in the 1940s. We got Medicare in 1965. I believe that if you live in this country when you're sick, you should be able to go to the doctor when you need to go to the doctor and get the medicine you need. And if you don't figure out how you're going to fix a broken health care system, you're never going to fix it. We asked Abdul El-Sayed to join us here tonight, and we weren't able to get him when we got Mike Rogers. And so because of that, we have Mallory and Debbie with us. We thank you for your time. We want to mention Congresswoman Stevens will be on Detroit Talk City with Charlie Langton tomorrow at four. That is the pulse for tonight. Our election coverage is not done yet. Scan the QR code on the right of your screen to go to fox2detroit.com slash live. Our election coverage continues from seven to 10 on fox2detroit.com.