Skip to main content
4 min read
◆ Mixed look for TalaricoElections / Campaigns

Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers pulled James Talarico interview as early voting begins in Texas

Talarico said CBS lawyers stopped Colbert’s interview with him from airing and posted a clip online.

Stephen Colbert says CBS lawyers pulled James Talarico interview as early voting begins in Texas
Image · Kwtx

SOURCE CHECK

TAP FOR WHY
Outlet credibilityKwtxNOT RATED
This article1 analysis · Oct 10, 2026

Credibility rates Kwtx, where this article appeared. The other scores rate the article itself.

Original publisher not identified

This article credits another publisher, which ChamberLight has not identified, so the scores are Kwtx's own.

Also carried by Boston.com

Kwtxoriginal publisher not identified
Feb 17, 2026
tl;dr

Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers stopped a planned interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico from airing, citing equal-time guidance from the Trump administration. The dispute emerged as early voting began in Texas’s Senate primaries.

Community verdict

15 VOTES
How does this story look for

Counts every outlet’s report of this story. See all 65

● OPEN
Votes cast on this page

Votes cast on this page: ▲ 0 · ◆ 0 · ▼ 0

People in this story

SWIPE →

Texas Senate candidate whose interview with Stephen Colbert was pulled from broadcast

PRIMARY SUBJECT
John Cornyn
R · TX · SEN

Republican Texas Senate candidate campaigning against Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt

Cornyn's version of this story ↗
Ken Paxton
R · TX

Republican Texas Senate candidate campaigning against John Cornyn and Wesley Hunt

Paxton's version of this story ↗

Democratic Texas Senate candidate and Talarico’s opponent

Donald Trump
R · President of the United States

President whose administration issued broadcast guidance and whose support featured in campaign ads

Wesley Hunt
R · TX-38

Republican Texas Senate candidate campaigning against Cornyn and Paxton

ALSO MENTIONED  Brendan Carr, FCC chairman who issued guidance on equal time for political candidates

Part of a bigger story

39 OUTLETS
Stephen Colbert's Interview With James Talarico Does Not Air on CBS

Outlets agree that CBS did not air Stephen Colbert’s interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico on broadcast and that it later appeared online. The dispute centers on FCC equal-time concerns. Left-leaning outlets frame the decision as censorship or political pressure threatening speech. Center outlets largely recount competing accounts of CBS’s legal guidance and the FCC’s equal-time rules, with some attention to campaign effects. Right-leaning outlets more often challenge the censorship claim and emphasize equal-time concerns or political gain, though some coverage lays out competing accounts.

Discussion · 0

What's your take?

Loading comments…