Sen. Bernie Sanders on midterm races and political rhetoric

(CBS, KYMA) - Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation about the midterm races to watch.

According to Brennan, Sen. Sanders hosted telerallies and town halls for Maine and Michigan this weekend, as well as being focused on Florida and Minnesota.

This prompted Brennan to ask the senator why focus on Florida and Minnesota, to which he said:

"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 [Jackson] is talking about is an economy that works for all. That's resonating."

Brennan then shared Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), who lost the Michigan primary, continues to make her misgivings about backing Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed public, citing concerns about his political ads and his views on Israel.

This led Brennan to Sanders if the Democratic Party is too divided to pull off a win in Michigan, and if it is getting in its own way, and the senator said:

"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...and he had nothing to do with those ads...I was in Michigan last week, 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 fact that any Republican would stand behind those horrible ads is a disgrace."

During the interview, Brennan and Sanders talked about rhetoric being used when talking about political candidates, like El-Sayed.

Brennan brought up Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), President Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Moreno's (R-Mich.) comments about El-Sayed, with Sen. Cruz warning against El-Sayed being given access to classified documents if he wins.

"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," Cruz remarked.

"Michigan does not need a senator who's on the side of the terrorists," President Trump added.

"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," Sen. Moreno added.

When asked if he thinks El-Sayed could actually govern if his colleagues in the Senate are this vitriolic, Sanders said:

"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."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Sanders, click here.