Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico is learning that playing the victim of Trumps FCC makes for a catchy social media clip, even when the facts do not back him up.
According to RedState, Talarico, a Texas state representative running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, had been slated for an appearance on CBSs The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, only to later claim that the interview was blocked by federal regulators at the direction of President Donald Trump.
Both Talarico and Colbert pushed the narrative that they were thwarted by the FCC and Trump, with Talarico posting the video online and declaring, This is the interview Donald Trump didnt want you to see. His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump is worried were about to flip Texas. The implication was clear: a Republican boogeyman had supposedly silenced a rising Democrat just as early voting began in Texas.
That storyline quickly collapsed under the weight of reality when CBS issued a statement that contradicted both the candidate and the late-night host, effectively throwing them under the bus.
The network explained, 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 other words, this was not censorship by Trump or the FCC; it was a straightforward application of long-standing equal-time rules that media professionals and serious candidates are expected to understand.
Rather than comply with those rules and offer comparable exposure to the other Democratic contenders, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texass 30th Congressional District, the show chose a different route. Producers opted to move Talaricos segment to YouTube, promote it on air, and avoid the hassle of granting equal time to his rivals, a decision that conveniently elevated one Democrat while sidelining the others. That choice had nothing to do with Trump and everything to do with how liberal media outlets selectively amplify their preferred progressives while pretending to be neutral arbiters of fairness.
The political payoff for Talarico has been obvious and immediate, especially for a relatively unknown candidate trying to close the gap with a better-known opponent. By casting himself as the target of a supposed Trump-era FCC crackdown, he has managed to harvest victim points, energize progressive activists, and draw far more attention than a routine late-night appearance would likely have generated.
As one post noted, James Talarico is having quite a moment in Texas after the Colbert interview - and according to Google Trends, Texans are now searching his name at a very high rate just in time for early voting, a surge in visibility that could prove decisive in a tight primary.
The dynamic is particularly damaging for Crockett, who entered the race with a significant name-recognition advantage and now finds that edge eroding. The closer the primary, the more valuable this manufactured controversy becomes for Talarico, who benefits from the perception that he is being silenced by right-wing forces while actually being boosted by a friendly media ecosystem. Crockett, meanwhile, is placed in a political bind: if she publicly corrects the record and acknowledges that it wasnt the FCC that shut [down] things, she risks appearing to defend Trump in the eyes of Democratic voters, a posture that could be toxic in a progressive primary.
Despite that risk, signs suggest Crockett is not content to let the narrative stand unchallenged. Colbert has hosted her in the past, but notably not since she entered the Senate race, a fact that underscores the imbalance in exposure now benefiting Talarico. Crockett has indicated she is still waiting on a statement from Paramount before issuing a formal response, but her current understanding is that the FCC did not, in fact, pull the plug on the segment, directly undercutting the storyline promoted by Talarico and Colbert.
As the corporate parent of CBS weighs its response, the episode highlights a broader pattern in which liberal media figures posture as truth-tellers while pushing narratives that crumble under scrutiny. For conservatives, the incident is a reminder that the real power to shape elections often lies not in government regulators, but in entertainment platforms and networks that selectively enforce rules when it suits their ideological preferences.
With early voting underway and the Texas Democratic primary tightening, Crocketts next moveand whether she is willing to challenge a false anti-Trump narrative promoted by her own sidemay reveal as much about the state of the Democratic Party as it does about this single late-night interview.
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