Talarico Blames Trump Administration for Pulled Interview With Stephen Colbert

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico accused President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission of blocking an interview he did with CBS’ Stephen Colbert from airing, saying it was because Trump is concerned about Republicans losing the race.

“Last night, I filmed an interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump’s FCC colluded with corporate media executives at CBS, but I think it’s safe to say that their plan backfired,” he told hundreds of supporters at a campaign stop in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday evening. “I think Donald Trump and his billionaire friends know that we’re about to take back Texas.”

During his monologue Monday, Colbert said CBS’ lawyers told him “in no uncertain terms” that Talarico could not appear on the broadcast due to the FCC’s changes to the enforcement of the “equal time” rule — which dictates that radio and TV broadcasters give equal airtime to political candidates if requested.

Talarico told reporters after his campaign event he was worried it could discourage broadcasters from interviewing political candidates.

“I’m very concerned that we have cancel culture coming from the most powerful people in this country, not just the president of the United States and his government, but also from billionaire corporate media executives,” he told reporters.

The decision from CBS came after the FCC reportedly opened an investigation earlier this month into ABC’s “The View” for allegedly breaking the “equal time” rule by interviewing Talarico.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Talarico’s primary opponent, praised the decision from CBS not to air the interview and instead push it out online, where it could gain a larger viewership. Millions of people viewed the clip on YouTube alone.

“The Late Show decided that this was the option. And I think that it was a good strategy,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett told MSNOW’s Jen Psaki, adding: “I think it probably gave my opponent the boost he was looking for.”

Crockett also tore into her primary opponent at a separate campaign stop Tuesday, calling attack ads from a super PAC supporting Talarcio “straight-up racist” for allegedly darkening her skin tone.

The ad, by Lone Star Rising PAC, shows Crockett and says: “If she wins, we lose.”

“I think that we’ve all seen the attack ads that have come on behalf of my primary opponent who supposedly wants to get rid of super PACs, yet doesn’t have anything to say about the negative ads, the ads that are darkening my skin, and this continual, ‘If she wins, we lose,’” she said at the campaign stop. “It’s not even undertones right now. It is straight-up racist.”

Talarico deferred questions about the ads to the PAC, saying he has “no connection” with the ads they’re running.

“If you have a question about an outside group’s ads, I would submit those questions to the outside group,” he told reporters. “We have no connection with these outside groups and legally cannot have any kind of influence or coordination with them.”