Stephen Colbert of The Late Show defied CBS lawyers by conducting and posting an interview that the Trump administration wanted quashed.
The host spoke on the matter during his monologue, which CBS also forbade, accusing the administration of censorship and attempting to push their agenda onto his show.
Colbert is out in May regardless of what he does, so he's doing what he wants.
Colbert to the FCC: "FCC you"
Monday night's episode of The Late Show had a surprise non-guest after CBS ordered Colbert to drop the interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico. The Texas Democrat is running in the primary race to challenge for a Texas Senate seat and could flip Texas blue if he wins.
CBS's refusal to air the interview has many saying that Trump must be really nervous about that, including Talarico himself.
"I think that Donald Trump is worried that we’re about to flip Texas," he said in the forbidden sit-down with Colbert.
The host accused the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of intervening during his monologue. Agency chairman Brendan Carr decreed last month that talk shows are now subject to the "equal time rule" that says broadcast networks must give opposing candidates the same screen time access.
The FCC has exempted talk show interviews from this rule for decades, but it's suddenly back. Colbert cried shenanigans, openly defying orders from CBS lawyers, not to mention the network's pulling of Talarico during the episode.
"Let’s just call this what it is," he said. "Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV."
Colbert previously spoke out against a merger that put CBS in the hands of Trump ally David Ellison. Soon after, CBS announced it was canceling The Late Show, leaving the host with little incentive to follow the rules.
Last night, he had a special message just for Carr.
"Sir, you’re chair of the FCC, so FCC you. I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself."
Colbert conducted the interview anyway and posted it to the show's YouTube channel.
"Censorship always backfires"
In a perfect example of the Streisand effect, CBS' attempts to prevent anyone from watching Colbert interview Talarico caused millions to rush to watch it. Normally, state senate races don't get this kind of attention, but the segment already has over 1.2 million views on YouTube.
On X, all the left seems to be talking about is how important this interview is.
"It’s important that you understand what happened last night," wrote @JoshEakle.
"In modern American history, no president has been more hostile to free speech than Donald Trump. But censorship always backfires."
"Pass this along on every one of your social media accounts," said @TerryMoran. "Make sure it is seen far and wide in our country."
At the same time, the attempt to censor Colbert may only embolden those on the left. They can smell blood.
"CBS not airing James Talarico’s interview with Stephen Colbert because they were supposedly worried about FCC backlash is a really big deal," said @karlykingsley. "Stephen Colbert was told not to say anything and did so anyways. This man is not getting enough credit for standing up for free speech."
"This tells you how terrified Trump, Brendan Carr, and Bari Weiss are of James Talarico," wrote @TheRickWilson.
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