Topline
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel said his Tuesday night interview with James Talarico, the Texas Democratic Senate candidate, will air on YouTube instead of his network ABC, owing to threats from the FCC, mirroring a situation from earlier this year when CBS didn’t air Late Show host Stephen Colbert’s interview with Talarico amid fears of violating the federal agency’s “equal time” mandate.
Jimmy Kimmel accused the FCC of threatening him, his show, his network ABC, and its local stations, to prevent the airing of James Talarico’s interview.
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Key Facts
In his monologue on Wednesday night, Kimmel took several shots at President Donald Trump and his administration before telling his audience that he will be interviewing Talarico on Thursday under “unusual circumstances.”
The late night host said Trump’s FCC has “has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations,” for editorial decisions and guest bookings “they don’t like.”
Kimmel said “out of consideration” for ABC’s local affiliates in Texas “who would have to deal with this nonsense,” his interview with Talarico will not air on TV and be posted on his official YouTube channel instead.
The comedian added that this is the best he can do “until November, of course” as he urged people to register to vote in the midterms.
Earlier in the monologue, Kimmel mocked Republicans, saying they’re nervous about “losing bigly” in the midterms and are in danger of losing a Senate seat in “Texas of all places.”
Kimmel also took a swipe at Talarico’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, calling him a “piece of human silly putty.”
Crucial Quote
“You know, for a lot of years, for the whole 20-plus years of our show, in fact, I’ve been interviewing Americans who are running for office with no problem at all, just like Letterman did, Leno did, Arsenio…I’ve interviewed a lot of political candidates from Hillary Clinton to Ted Cruz to Donald Trump himself.” Kimmel said that when he interviewed Trump in 2015, “he seemed to have no problem with the idea of a talk show host interviewing candidates. In fact, he was very eager to come back for another interview, which he did just before he became the nominee in 2016.”
What To Watch For
Kimmel didn’t specify if the FCC had threatened ABC and him specifically about airing the Talarico interview or if he was referring to the ongoing tussle between the network and the regulator. Earlier this year, in an unprecedented move, the FCC ordered an early review of ABC’s broadcast licenses. The review came amid the White House’s feud with Kimmel and the Trump administration’s criticism of “The View,” the network’s morning talk show. Last month ABC’s parent, Disney, sued the Trump administration and the FCC, alleging it was violating the network’s free speech and waging a “retaliatory campaign” against it. Disney accused the agency and its commissioners of trying to punish the network for its “editorial judgments and coverage of the current administration.”
What Happened With Colbert and Talarico?
A similar situation involving Talarico emerged earlier this year when Stephen Colbert, the host of the now-canceled “Late Show,” said CBS refused to air his interview with James Talarico ahead of the Democratic primaries. Colbert said CBS’s lawyers told him the interview could not be broadcast because they feared violating the FCC’s “equal time” rule. The rule requires networks to provide equal airtime to opposing political candidates, but a long-standing exception has been granted to news and talk show interviews. Earlier this year, the FCC sent out a notice suggesting that talk shows should not get the special exception, with Trump-appointed commissioner Brendan Carr claiming they were “motivated by partisan purposes.” Like Kimmel, Colbert posted the entire interview with Talarico on his show’s YouTube channel, and it has since garnered 9.5 million views.
further reading
ABC Sues Trump Administration Over Alleged ‘Retaliatory Campaign’ (Forbes)
Colbert Says CBS Refused To Air His Interview With Democrat Candidate Fearing FCC Blowback (Forbes)
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