Haley Stevens struggled to justify her abrupt endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers during a tense CNN interview with Anderson Cooper on Sunday night.

Stevens, who was defeated by Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic primary in August, maintained that her decision was “rock solid” even though she had told fellow Democrats only hours earlier that she would not back Rogers.

The dramatic reversal has triggered outrage throughout the Democratic Party. Senior lawmakers have denounced Stevens, several members of her staff have resigned, and President Donald Trump has applauded her decision.

Yet when Cooper repeatedly asked what had changed, Stevens pointed largely to complaints about El-Sayed’s conduct without naming a clear event that prompted her overnight shift.

“Well, look, this is just a weight off my shoulders, okay?” Stevens said. “Abdul has been getting angrier and angrier. I was trying to help and I endorsed him.”

Cooper reminded her that Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell had spoken with Stevens the night before and came away believing she had no plans to endorse Rogers.

“What changed between then and this morning?” he asked.

Stevens said she had spent time reflecting on the race before reaching her decision.

“I woke up this morning clear-eyed, fresh and focused on what was in my heart, and that’s that,” she said.

“Did you talk to anybody? Did you have a long night of the soul? Were you up all night? Did you have a dream? What happened?” Cooper pressed.

Stevens said she had been alone with her thoughts and had written down her feelings. She again accused El-Sayed of growing increasingly angry.

Cooper countered that El-Sayed had not suddenly become angrier between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

“So, I mean, something changed your mind,” he said.

The unusual exchange followed Stevens’ surprise appearance with Rogers at Detroit’s Perfecting Church. She had abandoned plans to campaign alongside El-Sayed and prominent Democrats, including Congressman Jim Clyburn.

Stevens had been disinvited from the Democratic event after a bitter dispute over an outside group’s advertisement that connected American support for Israel with the rising cost of living.

El-Sayed publicly distanced himself from the advertisement on Saturday, a response Stevens initially welcomed.

Yet by Sunday morning she was backing his Republican opponent.

Cooper returned repeatedly to whether being excluded from the church event was the real reason behind her reversal, but Stevens refused to identify it as the decisive factor.

‘Anderson, my mind is made up. I’m rock solid. I’m an independent woman. I made my decision,’ she declared.

The CNN anchor then confronted her with an August social media post in which she warned Rogers would be another supporter of Trump’s agenda.

‘We can’t afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November,’ Stevens had written.

‘Why can you afford now to give MAGA another Senate seat in November?’ Cooper demanded.

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Stevens instead questioned El-Sayed’s conduct and accused him of injecting anger into the Democratic Party.

As Cooper continued seeking a direct answer, the congresswoman appeared to grow frustrated.

‘It sounds like you’re upset with me too, Anderson,’ she remarked.

‘No, I’m not,’ he replied. ‘You’re not really answering any of my questions, so it’s somewhat frustrating.’

The interview grew even more awkward when Cooper again questioned the timing of her decision and Stevens responded: ‘Was that a question, Anderson?’

‘No. I wanted to see if you wanted to fill in the silence, but you don’t,’ Cooper shot back.

Stevens also criticized El-Sayed’s appearances with controversial streamer Hasan Piker and questioned some of his political associations, while maintaining she remained a proud Democrat.

But Cooper pointed out that such controversies had existed before she suddenly withdrew her support and flipped.

The political fallout was instant with Stevens’ longtime chief of staff resigning following her endorsement of Rogers, and other aides reportedly following.

‘We are shocked and heartbroken,’ her chief of staff said in a statement.

Asked about the departures, Stevens insisted her congressional office was already winding down and that staff members were entitled to their own opinions.

Dingell, appearing on CNN immediately after Stevens, described the exchange as ‘one of the most painful interviews I have watched’ and revealed she had been worried about her fellow congresswoman all last week.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who backed Stevens during the primary, blasted the endorsement as ‘a despicable betrayal.’

Michigan Democratic Party chairman Curtis Hertel accused Stevens of abandoning everything she claimed to believe in and declared she would no longer have a place in the party.

El-Sayed, meanwhile, brushed aside the controversy while campaigning with fellow Democrats.

‘At the end of the day I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens,’ he told reporters. ‘None of this matters.’

Republicans were delighted by the sudden defection with President Trump praising Stevens on Truth Social as a ‘Highly Respected Democrat’ and hailing her decision as an act of ‘bravery.’

Rogers, who appeared alongside Stevens at church with his wife Kristi, said he was ‘honored’ to receive her endorsement.

Nonetheless, Stevens insisted she was still supporting Democrats in other races and had no intention of abandoning her party altogether.

‘I’m not turning my back on Democrats,’ she told reporters on Sunday.

‘It is this one vote.’

A University of Michigan student was arrested after an altercation on the Ann Arbor campus in which she allegedly shoved conservative influencer Lizzy Benichou to the ground. As police took her into custody, the student reportedly said she should have “killed” Benichou.

Video circulating online shows the unidentified student confronting two men seated at a table Sunday beneath a sign that read, “Is Islam Compatible with the West?” During the heated exchange, she clapped inches from one man’s face, prompting him to recoil.

“This is f–king stupid, bro,” the student shouted before demanding to see the group’s “f–king permit.” Bystanders filmed the confrontation as tensions escalated.

The man told a campus officer, who was apparently off camera, that the student had struck him. She strongly denied the accusation, even as people nearby said they had recorded what happened.

“I have several f–king eyewitnesses, I didn’t do f–king shit,” she yelled. She then accused the man of “victimizing himself as a fully-grown man.”

“The f–king anti-Muslim people here who want to say I put a f–king hand on him,” she continued.

The confrontation soon shifted toward a woman standing nearby, later identified as conservative influencer Lizzy Benichou. Benichou questioned whether the woman’s clothing would be permitted in Iran, prompting the student to move toward her.

“Am I wrong? If you walked around like this in Iran, what would happen to her?” Benichou asked another person nearby as the student approached her.

The student then appeared to catch Benichou off guard, shoving her to the ground before moving toward her again.

A male bystander intervened and grabbed the student before she could continue the confrontation.

“Don’t f–king talk to me like that!” she shouted while being pulled away. “You wanna f–king get over here, bitch?!”

She broke away, removed her backpack and lunged toward Benichou a second time. A police officer and another man quickly stepped in to stop her.

The officer brought the student to the ground and attempted to place her in handcuffs as she resisted.

“Don’t resist,” the officer instructed.

“What the f–k are you going to do to me? Because I hit a dumb ass bitch in the face?” the student replied.

After she eventually stopped struggling, a second officer arrived in a patrol car. Together, the officers secured her in handcuffs.

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As the student was placed in the back of the police vehicle, she said she felt no remorse for what had happened.

“I’d do it again every f–king time, you stupid f–king c–t!” she shouted.

She then added, “I should’ve f–king killed you when I had the f–king chance,” prompting audible gasps from people watching nearby.

“Are you kidding me?” one person could be heard asking off camera.

“No, I’m not f–king kidding you,” she doubled down.

“You’re sick, you’re sick. Go to a mental hospital, bitch,” another onlooker yelled at the student, who was now in the backseat of the cop car.

“I’ve already been to a mental hospital,” the student shouted back. “And I’ll go again if it means killing you.”

Benichou later reassured her followers on X that she was “OK” after being “physically assaulted simply for showing up and exercising my First Amendment rights.”

“Political violence has NO place in the United States of America,” the influencer wrote. “I am incredibly grateful to the law enforcement officers who acted immediately to protect me. I am now in a safe location receiving care and I am going to be OK.”

Benichou added that the assault happened during a “Liberty Under Fire USA tour stop” and claimed her attacker had been “identified as a supporter of Abdul El-Sayed” — the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan.

The attack came just days before Michigan voters head to the polls Tuesday to choose between El-Sayed and former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in the US Senate race.

On Sunday, Rogers received the backing of Rep. Haley Stevens — the Democratic congresswoman who was narrowly defeated by El-Sayed in a hotly-contested primary.

University of Michigan police were responding to an unpermitted event on campus just before 5 p.m. when one of their officers witnessed the attack, the department told the Daily Mail.

“As the group was packing up to leave, officers witnessed a University of Michigan student assault a woman not affiliated with the university,” police said.

“The student was taken into custody, processed and released pending warrant authorization. No injuries were reported.”

The Post has reached out to campus police for further comment.

Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz delivered an unexpected superhero pairing for Halloween, sharing a kiss while dressed as Superman and Catwoman.

The couple posted a series of affectionate photos after enjoying a night out at a Halloween party with Damian Hurley.

Nicola highlighted her figure in a fitted leather crop top and coordinating trousers, completing her Catwoman-inspired look with her signature pointed ears.

In one playful image, the actor shared a kiss with her husband before joining Damian for a party snapshot.

Damian took inspiration from the leather jumpsuit Michael Jackson famously wore around the release of his Dangerous album, opting for a plunging one-piece of his own.

His mother, actor Elizabeth Hurley, also embraced the Halloween spirit by sharing a photograph of herself dressed as Poison Ivy.

The Halloween celebrations came after Brooklyn and Nicola marked seven years together on Thursday with matching, heartfelt tributes on social media.

Later that day, Brooklyn appeared to respond to critical comments from followers after posting a glamorous photograph of his wife, Nicola, 31, looking surprised. He captioned the image: ‘Yeah I am obsessed with my wife. Bring on the comments, I don’t care. She’s perfect xx.’

He also added a middle-finger emoji to underline his defiant message.

Earlier, Brooklyn had shared a romantic tribute featuring a recent picture of himself kissing Nicola on the cheek as she held a red £5,390 Chanel handbag. The post also included two bouquets of flowers and a handwritten love letter.

He wrote: ‘My beautiful Nicola, you mean absolutely everything to me.’

‘You’re my whole world, my best friend, and the most important person in my life. I’m so lucky I get to love you and spend forever by your side. I love you more than words can ever explain.’

The emotional post prompted some followers to question whether the public display of affection was ‘over performative’.

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One commenter wrote: ‘From the guy who called his parents’ social media posts “performative”…’

Another added: ‘Another millionth declaration.’

The couple have a number of anniversaries, including their April 2022 wedding date and their August 2025 vow renewal.

Thursday marked the anniversary of the start of their romance when the couple, who had previously been introduced at Coachella in April 2017, reconnected at a 2019 Halloween party hosted by Leonardo DiCaprio in Los Angeles. 

Nicola shared her own Instagram tribute, telling her husband: ‘Happy anniversary my love, my best friend, my everything.’

‘I can’t believe it’s been 7 years by your side, I wouldn’t wish for it any other way. i love you with my entire soul. i adore your love letters and morning coffees with our puppies please never change. i fall harder for you everyday.’

Among those to comment on the couple’s post was Brooklyn’s godfather David Furnish. 

David and his husband Elton John have been accused of ‘siding’ with Brooklyn and Nicola after the Beckham family fallout. 

The singer, 79, has been friends with the Beckhams for over 30 years with reports he had been acting as a mediator between godson Brooklyn and his parents David, 51, and Victoria, 52.

In January, Brooklyn publicly announced his estrangement from his family as he posted a six-page message on Instagram and made several heartbreaking accusations about his parents, including Victoria hijacking the first dance at his wedding.

But now fans fear Elton has taken sides with Brooklyn and Nicola after they flew over to Venice last week to celebrate David’s 64th birthday. 

A former worker on Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign is among 12 pro-Palestinian activists federal prosecutors accuse of targeting members of Michigan’s Jewish community, according to court documents and the US Attorney’s Office.

Mariam Odeh, 24, was one of eight people named in the first wave of indictments. Prosecutors allege the group threatened University of Michigan officials in an effort to pressure the school into ending its relationships with Israel, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said.

Four additional alleged co-conspirators were indicted Friday, bringing the total number of defendants in the case to 12, federal prosecutors said.

Odeh, who was charged in June over her alleged involvement, previously worked briefly for El-Sayed’s Michigan Senate campaign, The Detroit News reported at the time.

Campaign records reviewed by the newspaper show that Odeh received two payments from the campaign.

An El-Sayed spokesperson confirmed to The Detroit News that Odeh had been hired as an hourly campaign employee for two weeks.

Odeh, a Dearborn, Michigan, native, left the position on April 15 after earning nearly $750, campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner told the newspaper.

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Federal prosecutors allege Odeh was part of a group of pro-Palestinian activists who organized harassment and intimidation campaigns against university officials to push the University of Michigan to sever ties with Israel.

According to prosecutors, members of the group vandalized the homes of university board members, placed fake bodies on lawns and painted anti-Israel messages outside the home of the university’s then-president.

Investigators also allege that participants smashed windows and threw jars containing noxious chemicals into family homes. The alleged incidents were shared on social media alongside the warning, “you cannot hide,” prosecutors said.

Odeh was also allegedly involved in the 2024 vandalism of a Rolls Royce Solutions America, Inc. facility in Detroit, prosecutors said.

The group allegedly secured the building’s doors with padlocks and spray-painted “FREE PALESTINE” and “LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA” on the sidewalk outside.

Odeh faces one count of conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate and foreign commerce. She could receive a prison sentence of up to five years if convicted, The Detroit News reported.

The latest indictments accuse four additional defendants of intimidating university leaders, law enforcement officers and businesses they viewed as connected to Israel. Two of those suspects are believed to remain at large, federal prosecutors said.

Neither the El-Sayed campaign nor attorneys representing Odeh responded to requests for comment before publication.