A Texas Democrat is reportedly raking it in after his interview with Stephen Colbert was quashed in an apparent effort by CBS to appease the Trump administration.
Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who’s running for the Democratic nomination ahead of this year’s Senate race, brought in roughly $2.5 million worth of donations in just the day after he was due to appear on the comedian’s show, Politico reports.
“It should be troubling to all of us that the most powerful politicians and corporate executives are working together to sell out the First Amendment,” Talarico posted on X Tuesday. “They are selling out our freedom of speech in order to protect their own power and their own wealth.”
Colbert told viewers Monday night that CBS lawyers had insisted on pulling Talarico’s sit-down, which had already been filmed, because it might violate the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time” rule, which requires broadcasters to offer equal airtime to opposing political candidates.
That rule has not traditionally applied to late-night and daytime talk shows. FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Donald Trump appointee, said in January the exemption would likely no longer stand for programs that are “motivated by partisan purposes.”
“FCC you!,” Colbert, who had otherwise been instructed not to mention the cancellation on air, said Monday in comments directly addressed to Carr. The host later uploaded a copy of his interview with Talarico to YouTube, which as of Wednesday has been viewed more than 5 million times.
Critics accuse CBS of undergoing a rightward shift under the leadership of new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, following parent company Paramount’s controversial merger with Skydance, owned by Trump allies David and Larry Ellison, last year.
It’s not the first time Carr would appear to have targeted Talarico. He launched an inquiry into ABC’s The View for alleged violations of the equal time rule after the show hosted the Senate hopeful earlier this month.
If the goal was to limit Talarico’s reach, the plan has backfired spectacularly. In addition to his fundraising bump, Google Trends statistics suggest that in the 24 hours after his interview was pulled, Talarico’s name was being searched more than five times more than his close competitor for the Democratic Party nomination, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.
The Daily Beast has contacted CBS and the FCC for comment on this story. The network has previously disputed claims it “banned” Talarico’s segment, insisting it offered legal guidance and options to comply with equal-time requirements.
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