REPORT: James Talarico Withheld Something Important About His Colbert Appearance
Texas Democrat James Talarico knew his Late Show interview would never air on television before boarding a plane to New York.
Colbert’s producers told Talarico’s team days before the taping last month that CBS intended to release the conversation online only, according to the New York Times. The campaign chose silence, filming the segment anyway and betting that Colbert would call the Trump administration’s channel decision censorship.
The bet succeeded. The YouTube clip has garnered over 9 million views and Talarico has seen a flood of new contributions. An internal poll conducted for rival Jasmine Crockett detected a shift in momentum in her direction, the New York Times reported. Campaign adviser Chuck Rocha told the newspaper: “A lot of that money we got late from Colbert went to Spanish advertising. » (RELATED: Democratic Senate Candidate James Talarico Falsely Claims FCC ‘Refused to Broadcast’ His Interview with Stephen Colbert)
Colbert told a different story on air. He informed viewers that CBS lawyers had stated “in no uncertain terms” that Talarico would not be able to appear on the show. CBS countered that the show received legal advice regarding the FCC’s equal time requirements and independently chose to post the interview on YouTube, Fox News reported.
This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see.
His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert.
Trump fears we are about to overthrow Texas. pic.twitter.com/BCev5jZbKc
–James Talarico (@jamestalarico) February 17, 2026
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called the entire episode a “hoax.” “Yesterday perfectly sums up why the American people trust gas station sushi more than they trust the national news media,” Carr told reporters, according to Fox News.
Laura Ingraham asked Carr if the sequence was planned from the start. “Of course,” Carr responded, The Hill reported. Even Talarico’s main opponent saw through it. Crockett told MS NOW that the YouTube-only approach was “a good strategy” that “probably gave my opponent the boost he was looking for,” according to The Hill.
Talarico’s campaign touted a $2.5 million fundraiser in 24 hours, describing the clip as his “censored” interview in a press release, Houston Public Media reported. He posted on social media calling it “the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see.” His representatives provided no explanation as to why he attributed the decision to the Trump administration rather than CBS, according to the outlet.
Talarico defeated Crockett in the March 3 primary.
