AUSTIN, Texas — Texas state Rep. James Talarico found himself at the center of a growing dispute between CBS and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on the first day of early voting in Texas, after a planned interview did not air on the broadcast.
Talarico, a Democratic candidate in the Texas U.S. Senate race, was set to appear on Colbert’s show Monday night, but Colbert claimed that CBS would not allow the interview to run because of FCC rules. The network denied that, saying it never told the show to withhold the interview.
On Monday night, Colbert referenced the FCC’s equal-time rule during his show, saying, “That says if a show has a candidate on during an election, they have to have all that candidate’s opponents on as well.”
The Federal Communications Commission has required broadcast networks to give equal time to political candidates. In guidelines released Jan. 21, the FCC suggested it would be enforcing the equal-time rule on daytime and late-night talk shows.
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Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, said, “If a show hosts one person, they should host the other person, especially in terms of the main rivals.”
Instead of airing the interview on television, “The Late Show” posted the Talarico interview to its YouTube channel, where it has drawn millions of views.
According to CBS, in a statement, it says, “The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule.”
Talarico addressed the controversy in his interview with Colbert, saying, “I think that Donald Trump is worried that we’re about to flip Texas.” He also urged Democrats to stay focused, saying, “I’m trying to get us all to keep our eyes on the prize, which is remembering we’re on the same team and getting out there, doing the organizing work so that we can win in November.”
Talarico’s top opponent, Jasmine Crockett, was asked about the incident Tuesday afternoon. Crockett said, “It is our understanding that either Mr. Colbert or CBS decided they didn’t want to air it. And this was because of fear that the FCC might say something to them, and that there may have been advice to just have me on. And then they could clear the issue.”
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder was asked whether he viewed the situation as an attempt to keep Talarico from gaining an advantage in the primary. Scudder said, “I don’t really weigh in on anything involving the primary elections as the chairman of the party. I love all my Democrats equally.”
CBS Austin also reached out to Ahmad Hassan, the third candidate in the Democratic primary, but has not received a response.