A late-night interview between Stephen Colbert and Texas Democratic state representative James Talarico, now a U.S. Senate candidate, has ignited a fresh clash over media bias, federal regulation, and the limits of so-called equal time rules.
The segment, taped for The Late Show, never aired on CBSs broadcast, and instead appeared only on Colberts YouTube channel after the network reportedly ordered producers to pull it, according to Mediaite. On the televised program, Colbert openly defied the networks posture by telling viewers that CBS was reacting to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carrs warnings about the equal time rule, a long-standing provision intended to prevent broadcasters from giving preferential treatment to political candidates.
Colbert told his audience he was barred from saying Talaricos name, showing his image, or even providing a QR code linking to the full interview that would later be posted online. The online version opened with Colbert and Talarico addressing the controversy directly, with the host jokingly asking the Democrat, Do you mean to cause trouble?
After the audiences laughter, Talarico leaned into the narrative that his campaign threatens Republican dominance in the Lone Star State, replying, I think that Donald Trump is worried that were about to flip Texas! From there, he pivoted to a familiar progressive talking point, accusing Republicans and the MAGA movement of hypocrisy on free speech, declaring, This is the party that ran against cancel culture and now theyre trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture, the kind that comes from the top.
Talarico escalated his rhetoric, claiming conservatives are orchestrating a broad assault on liberal voices in entertainment and news. They went after The View because I went on there. They went after Jimmy Kimmel for telling a joke they didnt like. They went after you for telling the truth about Paramounts bribe to Donald Trump. Corporate media executives are selling out the First Amendment to curry favor with corrupt politicians and a threat to any of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights, he said, casting corporate media and Republicans as partners in censorship.
As the crowd cheered, Colbert undercut the drama with a sardonic aside aimed at his own employer, saying, Just to fact-check you, my network said our cancellation was a purely financial decision. The host then shifted to a softer profile of Talarico, discussing his Texas upbringing, his Senate campaign, and his professed Christian faith, even as the lawmaker has previously opposed displaying the biblical 10 Commandments in public schools, a stance that has long troubled religious conservatives.
Talarico argued that the religious right has spent 50 years fixated on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage and accused conservatives of trying to co-opt Christianity. He pressed further, insisting, I think we need someone in the US Senate who is going to confront Christian nationalism and tell the truth, which is that there is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism.
The Democrat framed the 2024 election as a moral crusade for his party, asserting that Democrats have a moral imperative to win in November to get the country back on track and dismissing the culture wars as a smokescreen meant to demonize his side. The real fight in this country is not left versus right, its top versus bottom, he said, recasting a deeply ideological contest as a class struggle, even as many voters remain focused on border security, inflation, crime, and the erosion of traditional values that conservatives argue are being sidelined in favor of progressive cultural battles.
Login