We are in the final countdown of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, boo hiss, with the Emmy-winning talk show ending in May. This was set in motion last summer, a brief recap: Colbert lambasted his network CBS/Paramount for kowtowing to Trump with a $16 million payout, after Dementia Don sued CBS show 60 Minutes over an October 2024 episode that featured Madame Vice President Kamala Harris. News of the $16M settlement conveniently came out while Skydance was courting the FCC to sanction their acquisition of CBS/Paramount, a link Colbert most certainly drew attention to. Within days of Colbert accurately reporting the facts, CBS canceled The Late Show. So the only silver lining I’ve been clinging to in this mess is that Colbert was able to enter this final season with absolutely no f–ks to give. What’s CBS gonna do, fire him?!
Well, I guess I wasn’t imaginative enough, because the network is still making fascist agita for Colbert. Monday’s episode was supposed to feature an interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico, who’s running for the Democratic Senate nomination. Political candidates appearing on talk shows has been standard practice for 30 years, dating back to The Tonight Show being granted an exemption to the equal time rules by the FCC in 1996. Only last month, current FCC head Brendan Carr followed his fuhrer’s bidding and announced the exemptions would no longer be honored because something something Hollywood has an alliance with Democrats!! All of which to say, Colbert spent the Monday episode calling out the FCC’s latest shenanigans and CBS for kowtowing yet again, while letting his viewers know they could catch the Talarico interview on YouTube.
Colbert opened his show Monday by explaining the situation. “You know who is not one of my guests tonight: That’s Texas State Representative James Talarico. He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert told the audience. “Then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on, and because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”
CBS, however, tells a different story. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, the network said, “The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. The Late Show decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.
…“In his letter, Carr said he was thinking about dropping the exception for talk shows because he said some of them were motivated by partisan purposes. Well, sir, you’re chairman of the FCC, so FCC U because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself, sir,” Colbert said. “Smelt it because you dealt it. You are Dutch ovening America’s airwaves. Let’s just call this what it is. Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV.”
…Colbert then showed a clip of Carr explaining that if talk shows want to have on political candidates, they can do so only if they are not shown on broadcast TV.
“I decided to take Brendan Carr’s advice. I am going to interview James Talarico tonight, but it’s not going to be on The Late Show, it’s going to be on the Late Show’s YouTube page,” Colbert told the audience. “The network says I can’t give you a URL or a QR code, but I promise you, if you go to our YouTube page, you’ll find it.”
We call him Dementia Don, and I feel like one of the biggest things Trump keeps forgetting is that the election went his way in 2024! I know a lot of this equal time nonsense is the administration greasing the wheels for the midterms this year, but the overall behavior here screams defensive and loser. It just doesn’t add up that they’re crying salty white tears over “Talk shows won’t have Republicans on and it’s not fair!” when Republicans have congress, the presidency, and Supreme Court. But they’ve been wronged, sure. And it’s not that talk shows refuse to have Republicans on; Republicans (for the most part) are too chicken sh-t to risk legitimate questioning. I found it especially nasty that CBS’s rebuttal tried to suggest that Colbert was reluctant to have Rep. Jasmine Crockett on for equal time. Puh-lease. Ultimately, though, the last laugh’s on Carr and the FCC for their “no broadcast TV” clause, because YouTube is continually overtaking TV in ratings. I’m not the best at sportsball lingo, but I think this is what they call an “own goal.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Texas turned Blue!
It was before gerrymandering. Ann Richards was governor in 1991.
And now they’ve created drama calling way more attention to this easily accessible interview that we should all stream (I have) for the algo. (Also, I really really needed to know if that was actually Colin Jost playing a bit.)
LMAO — James does give off a Colin Jost vibe!! I have known James for about ten years and he’s exactly as he seems; kind, sincere, clean-cut and adorkable. He was a good friend to me through my younger daughter’s fatal illness.
Wow, thank you for sharing that! He’s also really thoughtful and well spoken. I can’t vote in Texas, but I can send a donation. Tell him we out here said hey!
Sorry to hear about your daughter ❤️. He Is great, I wish he’d run for governor (although I’m excited to vote for Gina).
Just added my view to the tally!
Over 5 M views at the moment
Here’s brilliant historian Heather Cox Richardson’s explainer on the FCC’s actions, the interview being pulled by CBS
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=encd88MywEg
Thank you for sharing this. Have just donated to his campaign!
I watched it yesterday and as always was impressed with Colbert and impressed with James .He sounded sane and thoughtful. The Regime hates that.
I donated to his campaign yesterday. I don’t live anywhere near TX but I gave him money. Please do so . They’re trying to stop the inevitable.
The stoking of division continues here in Texas. Apparently, Jasmine Crockett – who I love as well and also running for the TX senate seat – gave an interview to Jen Psaki yesterday saying that she was contacted by CBS and told that Colbert didn’t want to give her equal time and THAT is the reason he pulled the Talarico interview. This could potentially pit Jasmine’s very strong voter base against Talarico. Gotta hand it to the evil ops of the current administration. They are relentless in driving division to prevent the unity that could turn Texas blue. Why change a playbook that is working? #crying
The thing – is GOP ops are gonna GOP, including trying to stir up discord, distrust and deflect from what the Trump regime is doing to consolidate power/hide executive overreach.
But this is a primary; both JC and JT and their campaigns can choose what, who they take intel from, what they react to, what issues and positions they focus on.
They don’t have to swallow, reiterate GOP talking points – they are both smart enough to know their own strengths and focus there and NOT run negative campaigns that would weaken whoever winds up in the general election against a republican.
I support and respect JC, but she’s being played and used. CBS told her that Colbert would also have to interview her…but left out they also stipulated he had to interview the GOP candidate(s) as well.
The way it was framed on Ptsaki makes it seem like a targeted slight against her, and it wasn’t. The people at the FCC and CBS want to divide Democrats.
This is it. The trump FCC doesn’t care if another democrat gets equal time, they want republics on Colbert as well. As if.
I’m Team Jasmine Crockett. But the Colbert thing just proves, yet again, that we’re living under an authoritarian regime now.
Celebitches-
Remember that Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who was GERRYMANDERED out of her seat, is also running for Senate in Texas!!!
And remember that Talarico broke quorum to try to help prevent that from happening to her! (And other reps — I’m in the new 18th and have to make some hard choices right about now.)
I love Ms. Crockett. Just because The Late Show was going to have Talarico on one night, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have Jasmine Crockett on again, for the third time. I hope this latest example of the Trump administration bullying content off our airwaves does not lead people to believe that Colbert’s Late Show was actually favoring one candidate over another. I think if it was Ms. Crockett who was scheduled for Monday night, the same thing would have happened. Lastly I am jealous of Texas; it has the two rising stars in the Democratic party. Let’s find a way to support both of them.
Would be incredible if one of them took ted Cruz’s spot in this cycle and the other one takes cornyn’s next time. I like both Crockett and Talarico – hoping they don’t destroy each other .
Cornyn’s seat is the one that’s up. We’re stuck with the oleaginous Red Cruz for another four years.
Talarico=Fetterman
How so? James has a strong, consistent track record at this point. He’s in his fourth term as a Texas state Rep and has been outspoken against Republican scams and Texas politics’ insane level of corruption. He names names (Wilkes and Dunn) and doesn’t pull punches.
He stated Biden was a failure, he won’t commit to impeaching Trump, he has taken funds from AIPAC, But most of all he is not a fighter, he is a follower that believes he is entitled to be a Senator. We’ve seen this before.
Talarico never took AIPAC money.
Lolz…. maybe the GOP shouldn’t have ended the Fairness Doctrine if they wanted equal time.
Heather Cox Richardson makes a good case that Tallarico represents a real threat to Trump, because his vision of Christianity conflicts directly with Trump‘s and could potentially offer Trump‘s MAGA base an off-ramp, were any of them to want one. It’s too bad he’s running against Jasmine Crockett.
I respect HCR, but I think she’s like many who haven’t been evangelical- she thinks it’s a slightly different Christianity. It isn’t.
Christian nationalism (which is what evangelicals are) has nothing to do with Christianity, especially the way James (and I) understand it. Their pastors are literally calling James heretical, for very Baseline mainstream Christianity theology.
To leave you have to completely walk away from that community, and deconstruct the craziness. It’s possible, I started in 2013, but there’s not going to be a significant number of people able to leave that mindset being in just a few months. It’s not just changing your identity, or who you vote for, it’s changing every idea you have about God and the appropriate place of religion.