Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Stephen Colbert is laying into his soon-to-be-former network over an axed interview with James Talarico, a Democrat and Trump critic.

The comedian criticized CBS, whose lawyers advised "The Late Show" that it could not air the Feb. 16 interview with the Texas state representative, who is running for Senate in a competitive primary against fellow Rep. Jasmine Crockett, "in no uncertain terms."

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"Colbert appears to have done the interview, but it did not air on Monday's broadcast. The late night host suggested the reason given for the canned interview was the FCC's "equal time rule," which requires broadcast networks and radio stations to give equal time to all candidates in an election.

"It's the FCC's most time-honored rule, right after 'no nipples at the Super Bowl,'" Colbert quipped."

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"He added that talk shows have usually been given an exception, however in January, Trump-appointed FCC chairman Brendan Carr issued new guidance dropping the blanket exception because some are "motivated by purely partisan political purposes."

"Well sir, you're chairman of the FCC, so FCC you," Colbert jeered. "Because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself. Sir, you smelt it 'cause you dealt it."

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"He continued: "Let's just call this what it is: Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV, OK? He's like a toddler with too much screen time. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diaper."

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Here's the interview:

www.youtube.com

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-17 10:44 AM | Reply

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