For the 12 of us who wakened Tuesday morning questioning what we had missed on Monday’s late-night reveals, CBS greeted us with a regarding improvement.
In a single day, Stephen Colbert had laid into his community, dedicating time on the prime of The Late Present to assert that CBS prohibited him from airing an interview with the Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico.
“He was alleged to be right here, however we had been advised in no unsure phrases by our community’s attorneys, who referred to as us instantly, that we couldn’t have him on the printed,” Colbert mentioned. “Not solely might I not have him on, I couldn’t point out me not having him on. And since my community clearly doesn’t need us to speak about this, let’s discuss this.”
The blame, he argued, lay with CBS’s attorneys for fearing repercussions from the Federal Communications Fee, the federal physique that regulates the airwaves, and its Trump-loyalist chair, Brendan Carr, who has picked fights with Trump critics on TV earlier than.
It appeared like a clear-cut case of the federal authorities having a chilling impact on free speech. However since then, new particulars have emerged that complicate Colbert’s claims.
So what’s truly taking place?
Colbert’s claims about CBS’s authorized fears are rooted in an FCC rule that has obtained renewed consideration below Trump 2.0. It’s referred to as the “equal-time” rule: a requirement throughout marketing campaign season for candidates competing for a similar workplace to obtain equal airtime on networks. As my colleague Cameron Peters defined, late-night and daytime discuss reveals had been lengthy thought-about exempt from this rule, however in January, the Trump administration introduced it might start to implement the rule extra strictly towards these reveals.
Colbert, CBS, and TV discuss reveals have all been latest targets of the FCC and the Trump administration, and it’s not onerous to see why. CBS’s father or mother firm Paramount is canceling Colbert’s present in Might, Trump sued Paramount/CBS over a 60 Minutes story in 2025, Disney/ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel final 12 months after Carr criticized a monologue he gave, and the FCC is seemingly investigating whether or not ABC’s The View violated this rule by interviewing Talarico this 12 months.
Colbert referenced all of this Monday evening: “Let’s simply name this what it’s: Donald Trump’s administration needs to silence anybody who says something dangerous about Trump on TV. … So, it’s no shock that two of the individuals most affected by this menace are me and my pal Jimmy Kimmel.”
However CBS and Paramount are contesting this model of issues. In statements shared with information organizations on Tuesday, CBS mentioned it by no means prohibited The Late Present from broadcasting the Talarico interview, and as a substitute provided authorized steering concerning the equal-time rule, in addition to various choices.
In accordance with the assertion CBS offered to The Hill, Colbert’s present then determined “to current the interview via its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the printed moderately than probably offering the equal-time choices.”
The complete section, which had been taped however not aired, would seem in a single day on The Late Present’s YouTube channel, the place it has now obtained properly over 5 million views, as of publishing.
The White Home, in fact, is defending the FCC and Carr, whereas attacking Colbert.
And the saga took one other activate Tuesday evening, when Colbert dug in to his free-speech case, calling CBS’s denial “crap,” saying they had been backing down towards “bullies,” and arguing that company attorneys already learn and need to “approve each script that goes on the air.”
The controversy additionally has a marketing campaign dimension. Talarico is working in a aggressive main towards Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a media darling who has appeared on The Late Present a number of occasions. Early voting in that Texas Senate main started this week — one thing Crockett has famous when requested to weigh in.
“I do assume there are extra layers at play right here,” she mentioned Tuesday at a press availability. “I do wish to be sure that…we’ve precisely what occurred versus the mania that simply so occurs to play out on the very first of early voting.”
She made an identical level on a podcast, suggesting the drama could have given Talarico “the enhance he was in search of.” None of this quantities to a protection of Trump, Carr, or the FCC — but it surely strikes a conspiratorial observe as her race with Talarico grows extra aggressive, and messier over identification politics.
Early voting ends subsequent week, and the first might be held on March 3.
