FCC Threats Force Jimmy Kimmel to Shelve James Talarico TV Interview

Jimmy Kimmel announced that his interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico will not air on broadcast television following threats from President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC, and their affiliates.

During his Wednesday monologue, Kimmel explained that while Talarico appeared for an interview on Thursday, viewers could not watch it on air. Instead, the segment was moved exclusively to YouTube.

“Tomorrow night, I’ll be interviewing James Talarico — under unusual circumstances,” Kimmel stated. “For over 20 years, I’ve interviewed Americans running for office without issue, just as Letterman, Leno, and Arsenio did. I’ve spoken with candidates from Hillary Clinton to Ted Cruz, and even Donald Trump himself.”

Kimmel noted he interviewed Trump during his 2015 presidential bid. “At that time, he seemed comfortable with talk show hosts interviewing candidates,” the host said, adding that Trump was “very eager” to appear before becoming the 2016 nominee. “But now that he is president, something has changed.”

Kimmel stated that “his FCC has threatened me, our show, our network ABC, our affiliates, and local stations” over routine editorial decisions and guest bookings. “Out of consideration for our local stations, especially our Texas ABC affiliates,” Kimmel said, “the interview will not air on TV and will instead be posted to YouTube.”

Talarico faces a tight race against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Democrats have not secured a national seat in Texas in over three decades.

Kimmel’s announcement comes nearly six months after former Late Show host Stephen Colbert claimed CBS lawyers barred his show from airing a Talarico interview due to FCC threats. “We were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said. CBS denied prohibiting the interview.

Talarico, a former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian in his fourth term in the Texas House, has blended progressive values with religious doctrine to court Texas independents, moderates, and disaffected Republicans, framing his politics as common-sense solutions to wealth inequality and elite accountability.

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