Colbert Calls Out CBS’ Fear Of Trump Admin, Live
Comedian and “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert criticized his network for its deference to the Trump administration’s continued attempt to suppress dissent.
You may have already seen the clips, but to recap: Before introducing actress Jennifer Garner as his guest on Monday night’s show, Colbert let the audience know that CBS lawyers told the show that Colbert could not have Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), a candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, on Monday night’s show.
“Then I was told, in uncertain terms, that not only could I not have it, but I couldn’t mention that I didn’t have it. And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this…Let’s talk about it,” he said.
Colbert then explained the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time rule” and recent guidance from Trump’s FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. The equal time rule only applies to radio and television. If a broadcast program features a candidate in an election, it must also give equal airtime to that candidate’s opponents. There are exceptions to this rule: newspaper interviews and interviews with politicians on daytime and late-night talk shows, Colbert said.
Carr announced in January that the FCC could exclude talk shows from the “equal time rule” exemptions. By deadline:
The FCC’s new guidelines, however, signaled to these talk shows that they should no longer believe that they would fall under the so-called “good faith news” exemption. Carr said determining whether a show is exempt would depend on a number of factors, including whether there was a “partisan motivation” to feature a political candidate as a guest. “If you spread fake news, you will not qualify for the true information exemption,” Carr said.
“Let’s call it this: Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says bad things about Trump on TV, because Trump is just watching TV, okay?” Colbert said. “He’s like a toddler who spends too much time in front of a screen. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diaper.”
He then announced that Talarico’s interview would be available to stream on The Late Show’s YouTube channel, which, as of this writing, has racked up more than 2.5 million views, putting it in similar territory as if it had aired on television.
“The show has received legal guidance that broadcast may trigger the FCC’s equal time rule,” CBS said in a statement.
“Nothing Christian about Christian nationalism”
Talarico is running against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). While the Republican primary between Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could be headed to a runoff, polls have shown a wide range of possible outcomes on the Democratic side. One, from Emerson College – considered a particularly reliable pollster – showed Talarico leading Crockett by nine points. According to Texas Tribune coverage of the Emerson poll from late January:
In a statewide sample of 413 voters taken earlier this week, Talarico, D-Austin, led Crockett, D-Dallas, 47% to 38%. 15% of them were undecided before the March 3 primaries. …
Talarico had a 34-point lead among Latino voters and a 29-point lead among white voters in the Emerson poll. But Crockett had the support of 80 percent of black voters surveyed.
The 17-point gap in Talarico’s favor between the TSU and Emerson polls stems largely from his widening lead among men, Latino voters and white voters, and Crockett’s narrower lead among women and older Democratic voters.
During his interview with Colbert, Talarico made it clear that he believed the Trump administration was trying to censor him because it feared Democrats would flip a Texas Senate seat. CBS’ decision follows news that the FCC had opened an investigation into “The View” for an interview it conducted with Talarico about the “equal time” rule.
Part of the Trump administration’s concerns may be that Talarico is trying to appeal to a demographic of voters in Texas that Republicans typically have by proxy: white Christians. Talarico is a Presbyterian seminarian, the grandson of a Baptist preacher who is currently studying to become a minister. He is also a state representative who has expressed his beliefs while fighting for separation of church and state in the Texas legislature, a distinction he believes helps protect the Church. Here is an excerpt from his remarks to Colbert, in which he offers a refreshing view (to this ex-evangelical) of the issue and the dangers of Christian nationalism:
For 50 years, the religious right…convinced many of our fellow Christians that the most important issues were abortion and same-sex marriage. Two issues that are not mentioned in the Bible, two issues that Jesus never spoke about.
…
I fought so hard for this sacred separation in our First Amendment because my grandfather raised me to believe that this boundary between church and state does not only benefit the state or our democracy, although it certainly does. But it also benefits the Church, because when it gets too close to political power, it loses its prophetic voice, its ability to speak truth to power, its ability to imagine a completely different world. This is why we must preserve this separation between Church and State. This is something we must fight for.
And I think we need someone in the United States Senate who is going to confront Christian nationalism and tell the truth, which is that there is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism. It is the worship of power in the name of Christ. And it is a betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth.
Massie predicts “more defections”
In a new interview with Politico Magazine, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), long a thorn in the side of his party’s leadership, predicted that once we get through some of the first big state primaries this spring, there will be “more defections” of Republican members of Congress, fleeing the agenda of President Trump and the party leadership. Massie to Politico:
The margin is slim, so on any given day I would just need one or two of my own co-conspirators to get something going. And what’s happening is the retiree caucus is growing and primary days are coming and going. Once we get past March, April and May, which contain a lot of the Republican primaries, I think you’re going to see more defections.
Because discreetly and privately, people tell me that they agree with me. So there are people who are considering running again who will be past their primaries or certainly past the date when the administration could put another Navy SEAL in place to run against someone. And then there’s the retirement caucus, which includes people who don’t want to retire, but redistricting is going to eliminate them or pit them against another Republican when they could retire for that reason.
In case you missed it
Morning memo: ICE agents under criminal investigation for allegedly lying about shooting
New from Josh Kovensky as part of his coverage of the Trump administration’s efforts to create the “enemy within”: Guilt by association: First ‘Antifa’ case draws anti-Trump activists into single terrorist conspiracy
Yesterday’s most read story
Guilt by association: First ‘Antifa’ case draws anti-Trump activists into single terrorist conspiracy
What we read
Wisconsin election denier joins DOJ case to obtain state voter rolls
USCP agents stop and arrest man with loaded shotgun outside US Capitol
South Jersey man becomes face of ICE resistance
