Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico appeared on Stephen Colbert’s YouTube channel last night, with Talarico uploading the hit to his social media accounts all while claiming that President Trump’s FCC “refused to air my interview” because “Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas.” The media hit comes just as early voting kicks off in the Texas primaries.
This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see.
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) February 17, 2026
His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert.
Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas. pic.twitter.com/BCev5jZbKc
Of course, the leftist spin apparatus quickly jumped into action, falsely claiming that Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr “threatened” CBS if they chose to air the segment. They also completely made up a story about CBS claiming “financial reasons” to cover for these supposed threats, in a post that got tens of thousands of likes and over a million views.
It’s important that you understand what happened last night.
— Joshua Reed Eakle 🗽 (@JoshEakle) February 17, 2026
Last night, Stephen Colbert interviewed Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a candidate who, by all accounts, is on track in the polls to flip Texas blue.
In response, Trump’s FCC reportedly threatened… pic.twitter.com/IEyWg7KnuW
In reality, the network themselves decided to not move forward with the segment on their live show, and instead just encouraged viewers to watch the interview online as a workaround to the equal-time rule that would’ve required Colbert to allow Jasmine Crockett have airtime as well. Even slimy Brian Stelter admitted that this was the case.
This just in from CBS: "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…
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 17, 2026
If they wanted to, they simply could have given Crockett airtime as well, but hilariously, they’d rather move the entire interview off their main airwave than give Crockett a few minutes to speak.
It was clearly an attempt at electioneering in favor of Talarico, the guy routinely accepted as far more electable than Crockett, and it definitely worked. Search trends for Talarico skyrocketed following the interview and their ruse.
Crockett and Talarico are still engaged in a contentious primary which will be decided on Mar. 3.