The following is the transcript of the interview with Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, which aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on November 1, 2026. MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. We are just hours away from voters in 50 states heading to the polls for an election that could shift the balance of power here in Washington. We start with someone who has been in the electoral campaign quite a bit, although he is not running for re-election. That’s independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who joins us from Burlington. Good morning, Senator. SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Good morning. MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m told you’ve organized tele-town halls and town halls for Maine and Michigan this weekend. Troy Jackson, Abdul El-Sayed. You’re also focused on Florida and Minnesota. Why Florida, since it is likely Republican according to CBS numbers, and CBS also rates Minnesota as likely Democratic? 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. He pulled off a major upset in the Democratic primaries. I think he has a real chance of winning the general election. He is mobilizing the working class across the country and talking about the right issues. And those issues are true in Minnesota. They are true in Florida. They are true in Vermont. People are upset and frustrated with an economy where billionaires have never fared so well. Elon Musk now owns more wealth alone than the poorest 53% of American households, while millions of people today struggle to put food on the table, pay, you know, pay to fill their gas tanks, pay rent. So what Angie is talking about, what Troy is talking about is an economy that works for everyone. That resonates. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, in Michigan, it appears there are some internal Democratic Party disputes going on around Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. There was a back-and-forth over the weekend with Congresswoman Haley Stevens. She lost the primary, but continues to make public her deep doubts about endorsing him now, citing concerns about his ads and his views on Israel. At this point, is the Democratic Party too divided to achieve a victory in Michigan? Are you getting in your own way?SEN. SANDERS: No, I think… No, I think in the end, 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, when people across Michigan understand that this is the most important midterm election, perhaps in American history, because we’re facing the most dangerous president we’ve ever had, someone who is authoritarian, doesn’t believe in the Constitution or the rule of law, who wants to give huge tax breaks to billionaires, take 15 million people off their health care, who had started an illegal and unconstitutional war in Iran. So what people in Michigan understand is that we have disagreements with Abdul on this issue or that, but from what I can see, across the state people are standing up. They are going to support Abdul and take on someone who will be nothing more than a rubber stamp for the Trump administration. That’s Mike Rogers. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I just want to clarify that Haley Stevens has been criticizing the associated ads and endorsing Abdul Sayed. [sic] The ones he has said are not his ads, but she still criticizes him for them. SEN. SANDERS: Right. But, I… MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, 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: Yes. SEN. SANDERS: And I have to tell you, if you want to see ads in Michigan, I have never in my life seen ads as disgusting, racist, alarmist as the ones that are running in Michigan right now. They are calling Abdul El-Sayed, who is a doctor, they are calling him a terrorist, a jihadist, really disgusting things. And the fact that any Republican would endorse those horrible ads is a disgrace. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the rhetoric is extraordinary. El-Sayed would be the first Muslim sitting senator in the United States if he achieves a victory here. However, he has been accused of having 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 something for our viewers. Senator Cruz of Texas warned against El-Sayed’s access to classified information if he wins. Hear.[BEGIN SOUND ON TAPE]TED CRUZ: And if I’m right 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 doesn’t need a senator who will side with terrorists. BERNIE MORENO: This character, Abdul El-Sayed, can’t be anywhere near Washington DC. Do you think he understands that concept that our rights come from Almighty God? That Jesus came here for our salvation.[END SOUND ON TAPE]MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, do you think El-Sayed could really govern if his colleagues in the Senate are so vitriolic? SEN. SANDERS: I mean, I just have to say that what Cruz, Trump, 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. Well, you don’t agree with him on that, that’s fine. But that level of racism, overt and outright racism, is downright repugnant and should horrify every decent American. The fact of the matter is that Abdul is having an extraordinary campaign and I think what we will see is a good victory for him in Michigan. People will rebel against that kind of ugliness. MARGARET BRENNAN: I appreciate your clarity when it comes to racism. I want to point out that some Americans hear any criticism of sending aid to Israel and the words the candidate has used as anti-Jewish hatred, and believe that that is scapegoating, too. How do you respond to that? SEN. SANDERS: Well, you know, for me it’s a little 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 the period of anti-Semitism. But the reality is that right now in Israel there is a far-right government led by Netanyahu, who, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many experts, has in fact committed genocide against the Palestinian people. Being critical of a racist extremist government in Israel and saying that American taxpayers should not spend a dime supporting that government is not anti-Semitism; is attacking a right-wing government, and I would say the same about any other government in the world. It does not reflect the nature of the religion of the people who are in that country. MARGARET BRENNAN: Got it. SEN. SANDERS: Then I reject it. You can criticize Netanyahu and you are 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 of the US Senate race in Alaska, the certification of which the Justice Department has said it could challenge. But we’re already hearing Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana say that “a fraud was perpetrated against the people of Alaska, and under no circumstances should Mary Peltola be in office if she fraudulently wins.” She argues, as you know, that she has no knowledge of this Democratic effort to corner the vote in Alaska and hurt the incumbent, although an aide told the New York Times that the candidate did know. Bottom line: What do you expect the Senate to do if you win? And does this whole mess really hurt the Democrats’ argument that they have the moral high ground on election integrity? SANDERS: Yeah, frankly, what the Democrats did in Alaska seems pretty silly to me, but it says – this is – it’s not illegal. It’s what happens in every election. Right now in Ohio there is a gentleman running who, as I understand it, you don’t know him and he claims to be a socialist, okay. And the Republican Super PAC is pouring 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’s not a good thing to do. It’s kind of stupid… MARGARET BRENNAN: Should there be an investigation? SEN. SANDERS: –What’s happening in Alaska is… MARGARET BRENNAN: –from Alaska? SEN. SANDERS: No, that’s the decision. The federal government does not participate in state elections. And we have a president who, in fact, denied losing the 2020 election to Biden. Him deciding which elections are fair or not is a bit absurd. The people of Alaska can make that decision for themselves. MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, Senator Bernie Sanders, thank you very much for your time today. Face The Nation Transcripts More Transcript: David Becker on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Nov. 1, 2026 Transcript: Rep. 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