CBS Keeps Talarico Interview Off the Air
in Move that Shuffles Posting to Internet
Capitol Inside February 17, 2026
Austin State Rep. James Talarico got 15 minutes of fame that money couldn't buy on Monday night in an interview on a national late-night talk show that CBS declined to air in a move that prompted its shuffling to YouTube in a video that appeared destined to go viral.
Talarico - one of two frontrunners in a Democratic primary fight for U.S. Senate - attributed the relegation of his appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert to the editing room floor at the network to intimidation from the Federal Communications Commission.
"This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see," the Democratic lawmaker said when he tacked a video with the entire conversation with Colbert to his X page at 1:23 am on Monday.
Colbert said CBS said the decision to pull the Talarico interview from the air was "financial" without an attempt to articulate. The late-night conversation marked the second time in eight days that Talarico has piqued the federal government's interest with conversations about his campaign and views on President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Colbert noted that the FCC launched a probe into the ABC show The View after Talarico appeared on the program early last week. The Texan got his first round of cheers from the audience after Colbert asked him if he meant to cause so much trouble.
"I think that Donald Trump is worried that we're about to flip Texas," Talarico replied. .
The free publicity that the Trump administration is creating with perceptions that the FCC is dogging the Texas Senate contender has been tantamount to a gift from heaven for his Senate bid in the face of intense competition from U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas.
Crockett posted the results of an internal poll that showed her leading Talarico by 4 percentage points with 49 percent on Monday night. The Senate race could be headed for a spring runoff with Ahmad Hassan on the Democratic primary as well in the federal contest. U.S. Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton have appeared headed to over on their side of the aisle as well in the race that's topping the Texas ballot this year.
The network snubbing gave Talarico added ammunition for claims that Trump and the Republicans have put free speech and fundamental rights in serious danger.
"This is the party that ran against cancel culture," Talarico said. "And now they're trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture - the kind that comes from the top.
"They went after the View because I went on there. They went after Jimmy Kimmel for telling a joke they didn't like. They went after you for telling the truth about Paramount bribes to Donald Trump," Talarico added. "Corporate media executives are selling out the First Amendment to curry favor with corrupt politicians. And a threat to any of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all our First Amendment rights."
Talarico took a shot at Christian nationalism when Colbert asked him about his status as a Presbyterian seminarian.
The state lawmaker said there's nothing in the Bible about the two issues that Republicans view as paramount - abortion and gay marriage - and nothing about attending church or voting Republican as a prerequisite for Christianity. The Bible, in contrast, teaches people to feed the hungry and the sick and to welcome strangers.
"There is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism," Talarico told Colbert. "it is the worship of power in the name of Christ."
