The big media controversy of the day comes courtesy of Texas Democratic
Senate candidate James Talarico and late-night television host Stephen Colbert.

Talarico insisted that CBS spiked his interview with Stephen Colbert, claiming, ?This is the interview Donald Trump didn?t want you to see.
His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump is
worried we?re about to flip Texas.?

This is the interview Donald Trump didn?t want you to see.

His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert.

Trump is worried we?re about to flip Texas.
pic.twitter.com/BCev5jZbKc

? James Talarico (@jamestalarico) February 17, 2026

Talarico is the probable Senate nominee for the Democrats in Texas and
has been highly touted by a wide variety of people across the political spectrum, including Joe Rogan, on whose show he appeared.

But the reason CBS spiked the interview is because they?re afraid of
the so-called Equal Time Rule. The FCC says that in a Senate primary,
if you provide time to one candidate, you also have to provide equal
time to the other candidates. CBS then said they didn?t want to provide
equal time to Talarico?s rivals, including Democrat Rep. Jasmine
Crockett or some other fringe candidate. Colbert then went on the air
and ripped into CBS.

At this point, Colbert is hoping that he is fired so he can be treated
as a victim ? a victim of the Trump administration and their evil
acolytes like Larry and David Ellison. Since that is his goal, he is
actively attempting to militate for his own dismissal.

That is what he is doing right now. So, after the interview, he went on
the air and said:

You might have heard of this thing called the Equal Time rule.
Okay. It?s an old FCC rule that applies only to radio on
broadcast television, not cable or streaming, that says if a
show has a candidate on during an election, they have to have
all that candidate?s opponents on as well. It?s the FCC?s most
time honored rule right after no nipples at the Super Bowl.
There?s long been an exception for this rule, an exception for
news interviews and talk show interviews with politicians.

Now that?s crucial. How else were voters supposed to know back
in 92 that Bill Clinton sucked at saxophone? But on January 21
of this year, a letter was released by FCC chairman and smug
bowling pin Brendan Carr. In this letter, Carr said he was
thinking about dropping the exception for talk shows because
he said some of them were motivated by partisan purposes. Well,
sir, you?re chairman of the FCC, so FCC you.

Brendan Carr is correct. Colbert is obviously motivated by partisan
purposes. When was the last time he had a major Republican guest? Can
you name one? When has he invited a major Republican guest on his show
and treated that person with the same sort of kid gloves with which he
treats Democrats?

Every episode of ?The Late Show with Stephen Colbert? is basically an
ad for one Democrat or another. It is MS NOW with some bad jokes.

CBS responded:

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 presented options for how the equal time for other
candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present
the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion
on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-
time options.

First, Colbert and his team tried to retell the lie that the FCC had
overtly banned CBS from airing the interview with Talarico. That was
not true.

Then, he tried to retell the lie that CBS banned the interview because
they were afraid of Talarico. And if Colbert hosted Talarico, then
presumably he would also have to host a Republican candidate in the
Texas Senate race, like Sen. John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken
Paxton.

That is not what the equal time rule says. In the middle of the primary season, Colbert would have had to host another Democrat, Representative Jasmine Crockett. And the producers of ?The Late Show? decided not to
promote the interview on the air because then they would have to do the
same for other Democrats.

For what it?s worth, Talarico is basically a straight Pete Buttigieg.
That is his entire schtick, down to the Pastor Pete routine.

If you can remember back that far, one of the most irritating facets of
the ?Pete Buttigieg for President? campaign ? and what irritated me
most ? is when he would suddenly turn into the world?s worst Sunday
School teacher and cite the Bible to say completely non-Biblical
things. He would try to explain that the Bible has nothing to say about
issues ranging from same-sex marriage to abortion, and that it?s just a
social justice document drafted by the Democratic National Committee.

Now, Talarico is doing the same exact thing. He?s claiming that you?re
a bad Christian if you believe that same-sex marriage is non-Biblical.

For the record, same-sex marriage is non-Biblical. There are many books
of the Bible that reference this, not least of which is Leviticus.

Trying to do the Pastor Pete routine, Talarico declared:

Jesus gave us two commandments: Love God and love neighbor.
And there was no exception to that second commandment. Love
thy neighbor, regardless of race or gender or sexual
orientation or immigration status or religious affiliation.
And it?s why I have fought so hard for the separation of
church and state in the state capital in Texas.

When Democrats try to reframe their own religiosity on the basis of
?Jesus was a post- religious figure who was in favor of secular
humanism? ? I may not be a New Testament expert, but it seems to me
that Jesus was, in his human form, a Jew growing up under Biblical law,
and that Jesus as the creator of Christianity, proceeded to suggest
that people ought to follow the precepts of Christianity rather
exclusively.

I think that?s a non-controversial take on the Bible.

It?s amazing how far Democrats have moved in my lifetime. Democrats
used to do this routine where they would say, Sure, the Bible says that abortion is bad, Christianity says abortion is bad. There is a long-
standing, several thousand years old doctrine that abortion is not
approved, that same-sex marriage is not approved, and that homosexual
activity is a sin. These are long-standing religious traditions, but we
have separation of church and state. In terms of public policy, I don?t believe in making public policy on the basis of Biblical law, because
this is not a theocracy.

That used to be the Democratic stance, which I think is weak when it
comes to trying to make peace with Christians, but at least it is
arguable. The new Democratic standards are that the Bible is somehow a document that greenlights same-sex marriage and encourages abortion,
and if you truly were a Christian, you would be in favor of all these
things.

Talarico says, ?Love thy neighbor means love thy neighbor, regardless
of immigration status or sexual orientation.?

The Bible says you are supposed to love thy neighbor as thyself, but
you are not supposed to love his sin. You?re not supposed to place a
stumbling block in front of the blind. There?s the Biblical injunction,
which is commonly presumed to mean that you are not supposed to allow
your neighbor to go without redress. If he?s sinning, you?re supposed
to warn him.

So, back to CBS: What?s happening at CBS right now is an attempt to
scuttle the ownership change at CBS and also target Bari Weiss at CBS
News.

It?s all about virtue signaling for the Democrats. It has nothing to do
with reality.

Democratic lawmakers, for their part, are suggesting they?re now going
to investigate CBS. Representative Darren Soto of Florida wrote, ?FCC
Chair Brendan Carr?s reign on unlawful censorship continues. This time
he?s blocking Democratic candidates. @EnergyCommerce Dems will be investigating this outrage. A reckoning is coming.?

FCC Chair Brendan Carr?s reign on unlawful censorship
continues. This time he?s blocking Democratic
candidates.@EnergyCommerce Dems will be investigating this
outrage. A reckoning is coming? https://t.co/56MmbYdfIR

? Rep. Darren Soto (@RepDarrenSoto) February 17, 2026

All of this shows you what Democrats are going to do with Congress if
they happen to win in 2026, which is to shut everything down.

--
Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
love this country.


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