'Two-word response': Haley Stevens hit by Morning Joe's rage after 'unfathomable' betrayal

MS NOW's Joe Scarborough tore into former Democratic Senate candidate Haley Stevens who, just two days before the election, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who beat her in Michigan’s primary.

Political analyst John Heilemann said the Democratic congresswoman had been preparing to join El-Sayed on the campaign trail as recently as Saturday night, telling elected Democrats, including Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), that she planned to appear with the nominee.

Heilemann said things fell apart after El-Sayed was asked about her at a Saturday event. El-Sayed said he didn’t really want her there, because she would distract from his race against Rogers.

“It seems that what happened was that statement that he made on camera really offended her in some deep way,” Heilemann said on Monday.

He noted that Stevens had attacked Rogers and the Trump agenda as harshly as any Democrat this year. “For her to … suddenly have Abdul El-Sayed speak in a way that so offended her sensibilities, that that was the thing that changed her from Saturday to Sunday and have her not only not do the event, but to endorse Mike Rogers — it’s kind of unfathomable,” Heilemann said.

According to Heilemann, Michigan Democrats are “befuddled” by her turn, and her once-promising political career now looks “tragic." He added, "There’s not a single person who thinks that she has not lit the entire thing on fire.”

Heilemann also pointed to Stevens’ fiancé, who announced last week that he would back Rogers. Heilemann said that move put pressure on Stevens to do the same.

Scarborough called her reversal “absolutely bizarre.” Stevens had now endorsed “Donald Trump’s most savage policies,” he said, including “the launching of endless wars,” “the gutting of Michiganders’ health care” and “endless corruption.”

“A vote for Mike Rogers is a vote for Donald Trump. End of story,” Scarborough said. “Why did I say that? Because Haley Stevens spent the last year saying that.”

He then dismissed the idea that a losing primary candidate could set terms for the nominee in the final days of the race.

“If I’m running and somebody that I beat in a primary comes to me the weekend before the election and starts issuing demands, I would have a two-word response,” Scarborough said, "and the second one would be 'off.'"

“It doesn’t work that way, Haley,” he added.

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