{"id":2571633,"date":"2026-02-19T19:35:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colbert-follows-up-fcc-equal-time-fiasco-by-sitting-down-with-liberal-senator-whos-up-for-re-election\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T19:37:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:37:03","slug":"colbert-follows-up-fcc-equal-time-fiasco-by-sitting-down-with-liberal-senator-whos-up-for-re-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colbert-follows-up-fcc-equal-time-fiasco-by-sitting-down-with-liberal-senator-whos-up-for-re-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Colbert Follows Up FCC &#8216;Equal Time&#8217; Fiasco by Sitting Down with Liberal Senator Who&#8217;s Up for Re-election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcolbert-follows-up-fcc-equal-time-fiasco-by-sitting-down-with-liberal-senator-whos-up-for-re-election%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2571633&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The piece describes a dispute involving The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,Democratic candidates,and the FCC\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-view-under-fcc-investigation-over-interview-with-texas-dem\/\" title=\"&#039;The View&#039; Under FCC Investigation Over Interview with Texas Dem\">equal-time rules<\/a>.It centers on Colbert\u2019s planned interview with James Talarico, a Democrat running in Texas, which CBS reportedly pulled as of concerns that airing him could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-is-the-fcc-equal-time-rule-at-center-of-talarico-interview\/\" title=\"What is the FCC ... rule at center of ... interview?\">trigger equal-time obligations<\/a> for other candidates, including Jasmine Crockett and John Cornyn. Deadline notes that Talarico is considered a legally qualified candidate under FCC rules, while Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff\u2014who Colbert had previously invited\u2014was not, at least under the timing of Georgia primaries then in effect.<\/p>\n<p>CBS framed the situation differently, saying the network could have provided <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >equal-time options<\/a> but chose to move the interview to YouTube rather than airing it on the broadcast with other candidates in mind. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr insisted the decision was about rules, not censorship, and suggested the interview could be used to raise money and clicks for the candidate. the report ties the incident to broader discussions about media trust and how political coverage is handled on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trevor-noah-to-leave-the-daily-show\/\" title=\"Trevor Noah to Leave The Daily ...\">late-night programs<\/a>, noting Colbert\u2019s show is nearing itS end.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given the chance by the Federal Communications Commission to get a liberal Democrat on his soon-to-be history talk show, Stephen Colbert gave Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia free rein to throw mud at President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which liberal voice would be receiving Colbert&rsquo;s softball questions had become an issue after CBS pulled the plug on Colbert&rsquo;s plans to give Democrat James Talarico a dose of airtime on Monday.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talarico is running in a primary against Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas to become the candidate to oppose Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the November election.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/02\/jon-ossoff-the-late-show-james-talarico-cbs-1236727312\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deadline<\/a> noted that Talarico is covered by FCC rules because he is considered a legally qualified candidate, while Ossoff is not, even though he has made no bones about his plan to seek another term.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Ossoff &hellip; isn&rsquo;t a &lsquo;legally qualified candidate,&rdquo; Deadline explained, noting, &nbsp;&ldquo;the qualifying period for the primaries in Georgia doesn&rsquo;t kick in until the start of March.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;This means he is free to appear on&nbsp;&lsquo;The Late Show&rsquo;&nbsp;without CBS having to invite his rivals on as well, if they asked, of course,&rdquo; Deadline explained.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And so, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/colbert-hosts-jon-ossoff-in-first-political-interview-since-talarico-dust-up-senator-fumes-about-censorship-in-trumps-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mediaite<\/a> noted, Ossoff was free to liken Trump to leaders who censored the media.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;And I&rsquo;ll just say that more and more, Donald Trump&rsquo;s America reminds me of those places and those societies and that should chill us all to the bone,&rdquo; he continued to cheers and applause.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;I think Donald Trump&rsquo;s rise &mdash; Donald Trump himself &mdash; is a symptom of a deeper disease in our society. I mean, how is it that a demagogue who promised to tear it all down was twice elected to the presidency on false promises?&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s because the system really is rigged. He&rsquo;s not unrigging it &mdash; he&rsquo;s re-rigging it for himself,&rdquo; Ossoff said.<\/p>\n<p>The incident comes as an AI search shows Adam Kinzinger, the former Republican member of Congress from Illinois, was the last Republican on Colbert&rsquo;s show, and that was in January 2025.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colbert, whose show fades away in May, made sure to tell his version of the Talarico tale during his show, Deadline noted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo; &hellip; [W]e were told in no uncertain terms by our network&rsquo;s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,&rdquo; Colbert said. &ldquo;Then, I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on and because my network clearly doesn&rsquo;t want us to talk about this, let&rsquo;s talk about this.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CBS offered a different version of the story.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;The show was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/carr-denies-hoax-that-fcc-blocked-colbert-talarico-interview\/\" title=\"Carr denies &#039;hoax&#039; that FCC blocked Colbert...... interview\">provided legal guidance<\/a> 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,&rdquo; CBS said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;&lsquo;The Late Show&rsquo; decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options,&rdquo; CBS said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FCC chairman Brendan Carr said rules, not politics, were at work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;There was no censorship here at all,&rdquo; he said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2026\/02\/18\/colbert-james-talarico-fcc-segment-cbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carr said Talarico &ldquo;took advantage&rdquo; of the news media &ldquo;for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks.&rdquo; The interview was posted to YouTube and has been seen over 6 million times.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Media reports about Talarico and Colbert were &ldquo;a perfect encapsulation of why the American people have more trust in gas station sushi than they do in the national news media,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s a concise paraphrase of the main points:<\/p>\n<p>Regulators were weighing whether a liberal Democrat could appear on Stephen Colbert\u2019s soon-to-be-history-themed show, and Colbert gave Sen. Jon Ossoff broad leeway to attack President Trump. The question of which liberal guest would receive Colbert\u2019s favorable interview treatment arose after CBS canceled plans to feature Democrat James Talarico in a Monday segment. Talarico is running in a Texas primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett to face Republican Sen. John Cornyn; Deadline noted that Talarico counts as a legally qualified candidate under FCC rules, while Ossoff does not at this time because Georgia\u2019s primary qualifying period starts in March.<\/p>\n<p>Deadline suggested Ossoff could appear on Colbert without CBS needing to invite his rivals, which allowed Ossoff to liken Trump to leaders who censor the media. CBS said the network\u2019s legal team warned that the equal-time rule could apply, and therefore they offered alternative ways to meet that rule, including moving the interview to YouTube with on-air promotion rather than providing equal-time opportunities. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr stressed that the issue was about rules, not censorship. The YouTube clip of the interview has drawn millions of views<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2571634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jon-Ossoff-vs-Stephen-Colbert.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[16091,74157,16609],"class_list":["post-2571633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-colbert","tag-equaltime","tag-fcc"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jon-Ossoff-vs-Stephen-Colbert.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2571633"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2571638,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571633\/revisions\/2571638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2571634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2571633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2571633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2571633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}