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November 1, 2026 / 1:13 PM EST / CBS News

The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Nov. 1, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation. We are just hours away from voters in 50 states going to the polls for an election that could shift the balance of power here in Washington. We begin with someone who has been on the campaign trail quite a bit, although he is not up for reelection. That’s Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who joins us from Burlington. Good morning to you, Senator.

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I’ve been told you’ve hosted telerallies, town halls for Maine and Michigan this weekend. Troy Jackson, Abdul El-Sayed. You’re focused as well on Florida and Minnesota. Why Florida, since it is likely GOP according to CBS numbers, and CBS also rates Minnesota as likely Dem. Why focus there?

SEN. SANDERS: Well, I don’t take anything for granted. I think Angie Nixon in Florida is running a great grassroots campaign. She pulled off a huge upset in the Democratic primary. I think she has a real chance to win the general election. She is mobilizing working-class people all over this country, and she’s talking about the right issues. And those issues are true in Minnesota. They’re true in Florida. They’re true in Vermont. People are disgusted and frustrated with an economy in which the billionaires have never ever had it so good. Elon Musk now owns more wealth alone than the bottom 53% of American households, while millions of people today are struggling to put food on the table, pay for, you know, pay to fill up their gas tanks, pay for rent. So what Angie is talking about, what Troy is talking about is an economy that works for all. That’s resonating.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, out in Michigan, there appears some inner Democratic Party squabbles that are ongoing here around the Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. There was a back and forth over the weekend with Congresswoman Haley Stevens. She lost the primary, but she continues to make public her deep misgivings about backing him now, citing concerns about his ads and his views on Israel. At this point, is the Democratic Party just too divided to pull off a win in Michigan? Is it getting in its own way?

SEN. SANDERS: No, I think- No, I think the over, you know, Haley Stevens lost a very, very close primary. I can understand being upset about that, but I think two days before the election, where people all over Michigan understand that this is the most important midterm election, perhaps in the history of the United States, because we are taking on the most dangerous president that we’ve ever had, somebody who’s an authoritarian, does not believe in the Constitution or the rule of law, who wants to give massive tax breaks to billionaires, throw 15 million people off their health care, that they had started an illegal, unconstitutional war in Iran. So, what the people in Michigan understand, sure, we have disagreements with Abdul on this or that issue, but from what I can see, all over the state people are standing up. They’re going to stand with Abdul, take on somebody who will be nothing more than a rubber stamp for the Trump administration. That’s Mike Rogers.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, just want to clarify there Haley Stevens has been criticizing ads associated and endorsing Abdul Sayed [sic] that he has said are- are not his ads, but she’s still criticizing him for them.

SEN. SANDERS: Right. But, I–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah go ahead.

SEN. SANDERS: Right, and he had nothing to do with those ads.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. SANDERS: But Margaret, I was in Michigan last week–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. SANDERS: –and I got to tell you, if you want to look at ads in Michigan, I have never in my life seen such disgusting, racist, fearmongering ads as those that are taking place in Michigan right now. They are calling Abdul El-Sayed, who is a medical doctor, they’re calling him a terrorist, a jihadist, really disgusting things. And the- the fact that any Republican would stand behind those horrible ads is a disgrace.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the rhetoric is extraordinary. El-Sayed would be America’s first sitting Muslim senator if he pulls off a win here. He has been accused, though, of ties to a Sunni Islamist group known as the mother- Muslim Brotherhood. He has distanced himself. He has disavowed it. But I want to play for our viewers something. Senator Cruz of Texas warned against El-Sayed being given any access to classified intelligence if he wins. Listen.

[BEGIN SOUND ON TAPE]

TED CRUZ: And if I am correct that he is a passionate supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, there is a very real risk that Americans will die as a result.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Michigan does not need a senator who’s on the side of the terrorists.

BERNIE MORENO: This character Abdul El-Sayed can be nowhere near Washington D.C. Do you think he understands that concept that our rights come from God Almighty? That Jesus came here for our salvation.

[END SOUND ON TAPE]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, do you think that El-Sayed could actually govern if his colleagues in the Senate are this vitriolic?

SEN. SANDERS: I mean that- I just got to say, what Cruz and Trump and Vance and others are saying is disgusting. It really is. And again, I don’t care if you disagree with Abdul- he believes in Medicare for all, he believes in taxing billionaires. Fine, you disagree with him on that, that’s fine. But that level of racism, overt, absolute racism, is frankly disgusting and should appall every decent American. The fact of the matter is that Abdul is running an extraordinary campaign, and I think what you’re going to see is a good victory in Michigan for him. People will rebel against that type of ugliness.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I appreciate your clarity when it comes to racism. I do want to point out that some Americans hear any criticism of sending aid to Israel and the words that the candidate has used as anti-Jewish hate, and they believe that that’s scapegoating as well. How do you respond to that?

SEN. SANDERS: Well, you know, for me, it’s a little bit personal. I am Jewish. My father’s family was wiped out by Hitler. Anti-Semitism is an extraordinarily disgusting and dangerous ideology that has killed millions and millions of lives in the last century. We cannot tolerate anti-Semitism period. But the reality is that right now in Israel you have a right-wing extremist government led by Netanyahu, who, in my view, and the view of many experts, has in fact committed genocide against the Palestinian people. To be critical of a racist extremist government in Israel, and to say that American taxpayers should not spend a nickel supporting that government is not anti-Semitism, it is attacking a right-wing government, and I would say the same about any other government on earth. Does not reflect the nature of the religion of the people who are in that country.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Got it.

SEN. SANDERS: So I reject that. You can criticize Netanyahu, and you’re not anti-Semitic.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Got it. I want to ask you about the next Congress. Senator Dan Sullivan told CNN today that he will accept the results in the Alaska U.S. Senate race, the certification of which the Justice Department has said it may challenge. But we’re already hearing from Republican Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, that there “was fraud perpetrated against the people of Alaska, and under no circumstances should Mary Peltola be seated if she wins in a fraudulent manner.” She argues, as you know, she has no knowledge of this Democratic effort to stack the ballot in Alaska from- and to hurt the incumbent, though an aide told the New York Times that the candidate did indeed know. Bottom line: What do you expect the Senate to do if she wins? And does all this mess really hurt the Democratic argument that they have a moral high ground on election integrity?

SEN. SANDERS: Yeah, frankly, what the Democrats did in Alaska seems to me to be pretty dumb, but it goes- this is- it’s not illegal. It’s what happens in every election. Right now in Ohio, there is a gentleman who is running, who is, as I understand it, don’t know him, claiming to be a socialist, fine. And Republican Super PAC is putting money into his election. So why in Ohio is a Republican, a right-wing super PAC, funding a socialist? The answer is obviously- obvious. They want to take votes away from Sherrod Brown. Is this a good thing to do? No, it is not a good thing to do. It’s a stupid thing to do–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Should there be an investigation–

SEN. SANDERS: –What’s going on in Alaska is–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –of Alaska?

SEN. SANDERS: No, that’s the decision- The federal government does not get involved in state elections. And you have a president who, in fact, denied that he lost the election in 2020 against Biden. For him to be deciding what is a fair election or not is a little bit absurd. People of Alaska can make that decision themselves.

MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, Senator Bernie Sanders, thank you very much for your time today.