The Patriot Post® · Colbert, Talarico Lie About FCC 'Ban'

Three candidates are running to be the Democrat nominee for Texas’s Senate seat — State Representative James Talarico, U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett, and the relatively unknown Ahmad Hassan.

Recent polling shows it’s a tight race between Talarico and Crockett. From a Democrat establishment perspective, picking up a Senate seat in Texas would be a huge win, which is why they feel their chances are better with Talarico rather than the rhetorical bomb-throwing Crockett on the party ticket.

Given the tight nature of the race, CBS’s “The Late Show” with soon-to-be-ousted host Stephen Colbert planned to have Talarico as a guest on the program. However, when CBS broadcast the episode, it did not include Colbert’s interview with Talarico. Instead, the host offered a bitter explanation that was anything but the whole truth.

Colbert claimed that the network pulled the interview after its legal team said it was not allowed to air it, and that he was further instructed not to mention Talarico’s name. He continued his rant, insisting that the Federal Communications Commission had warned CBS about running afoul of the equal time rule, a legal provision that applies to the three broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, and NBC. It requires those networks that use publicly available airwaves to allow competing political candidates the opportunity to appear on a news program for an interview.

This rule has been in place since the passage of the Communications Act of 1934. So, the fact that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr alerted CBS that it could be in violation of the law if Crockett and Hassan were not also offered time is not a novel rule the Trump administration concocted just to make life even more unpleasant for Colbert.

But Mr. TDS himself never lets the truth derail his bogus narratives because it’s always Orange Man Bad. As Colbert put it:

But on January 21st of this year, a letter was released by FCC chairman and smug bowling pin Brendan Carr. In this 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.

I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself, sir. Hey, you smelt it because you dealt it. You are Dutch oven-ing America’s airwaves.

What a classy guy.

However, CBS set the record straight:

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.

Colbert’s behavior comes as no surprise, given his Trump derangement. However, it’s Talarico’s comments following the interview — again, which CBS posted on its YouTube channel — that demonstrate his willingness to lie boldly and attempt to deceive Texas voters.

Talarico also falsely framed the situation as the Trump administration attempting to “silence,” “censor,” and “block” him. He ridiculously claimed that he is a victim of “cancel culture,” posting on X, “[Trump’s] FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert.”

In an interview on MSNOW (formerly MSNBC), Talarico claimed that the Trump administration had violated the First Amendment, “selling out our freedom of speech in order to protect their own power and their own wealth.”

For her part, Crockett admitted, “I think it probably gave my opponent the boost he was looking for.” She’s right — it was all a political game to raise his profile.

The truth is that the Trump administration did nothing. The FCC did not bar, ban, or threaten CBS. This decision was CBS’s to make, and Colbert could have aired the segment with Talarico if he had also been willing to interview Crockett, something he apparently objected to for no clear reason.

Well, as The Babylon Bee humorously surmised, “Colbert Announces He Would Rather Show Not Air At All Than Have To Interview Black Woman.”