Stephen Colbert blasted CBS on Monday night after the network killed a planned interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, citing concerns that going through with it would raise the ire of the Trump administration.
The network’s decision to block the interview is one of the highest-profile instances of the Trump administration applying pressure to rein in media personalities it views as unfriendly. Colbert panned President Donald Trump as “a toddler with too much screen time.”
At issue: the Federal Communications Commission’s equal time provision, which requires radio and broadcast programs to devote equal time to all candidates in a particular race. News programs have long been exempt from the rule, which has generally also been extended to talk shows. But guidance issued by FCC Chair Brendan Carr in January signaled the agency could go after late-night talk hosts or shows like the “The View” by citing the provision.
“Carr said he was thinking about dropping the exception for talk shows because he said that some of them were motivated by partisan purposes,” Colbert told his audience. “Well, sir, you’re chairman of the FCC. So FCC you. Because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself.”
