August 30, 2026 / 11:47 AM EDT
/ CBS News
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The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. John James, Republican of Michigan, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Aug. 30, 2026.MARGARET BRENNAN: And we're back with Michigan Congressman John James, who is also the Republican nominee for governor in his state. He joins us from Rockford, Michigan. Good morning to you, Congressman.REP. JOHN JAMES: Hey, Margaret. Good morning. Thank you so much for having me on. I'm really excited because in a state like Michigan, we have the most extreme ticket running with Abdel Al Sayed and Jocelyn Benson campaigning with people who said that we deserve 9/11, I say never forget.MARGARET BRENNAN: Wow, I want to ask you about some issues with your platform and the like, but never forget. Of course, I'm sorry. Did you just accuse Senate candidates of something to do with terrorism? I'm not clear on what you just said.REP. JAMES: Yeah, they're- they're campaigning with extremists who say that America deserved 9/11, and I think that coming up on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, these are statements that are way out of bounds and should definitely be clarified. Michigan is ground zero for this republic in this next election, and we need to make sure that we stop socialism and that we save the state of Michigan, because we don't do it here, it's going to go to the rest of the country.MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, I think you're talking about a supporter of a Senate candidate that that Senate candidate has started to distance himself from, and that influencer Hassan Piker has disavowed those past comments he made, but let's put that aside because I don't want to get into that. I want to talk about you. You are an Iraq war vet, and we are now given your time in uniform and your service to this country. I wonder what you think that we're now at the six-month mark of the war with Iran. We were told it was going to be four to six weeks. As you know, it's unpopular. 61% of Americans, according to our polling, disapprove of it. It's driven up gas prices. It's affecting America's role in the world. I wonder if you agree with what appears to be a switch away from military force towards economic sanctions. And do you think your constituents deserve more of an explanation from the administration as to what they're doing?REP. JAMES: I believe very strongly when people say "death to America," we should take them at their word. I graduated West Point in the class of 2004, and we took our oath of affirmation, knowing that we would go to war. And as a result, the class of 2004 suffered the most casualties of any service academy since Vietnam. We understand the cost of war. We hate war, and we want to use every method, diplomatic or economic, to make sure that we keep Americans safe and we keep our young military members out of war. I applaud the administration's effort to make sure that Iran has no nukes, so they cannot threaten America and our allies. I applaud the administration's efforts to use every resource at their disposal to pursue peace, and these are the types of things that- that- that our people want. But we also have a number of things in the state of Michigan that we can do to lower the cost of living, to increase affordability, and these are the types of things that I'm running to do as governor to reduce harmful regulations that will lower gas prices and will lower the cost of groceries. These are the types of things that Michiganders are talking about: increasing affordability, particularly with energy and housing and healthcare. And I'm excited to be able to do that here at home.
