Category: News

In the latest twist in the Jimmy Kimmel–James Talarico interview drama, the White House is now accusing the ABC late-night host and his network of spinning a fake tale of federal strong-arming.

Put another way, Team Trump insists there was never pressure put on Kimmel and ABC from the Trump administration to scuttle an interview with the poll-topping Texas Democrat and Senate hopeful.

“Jimmy Kimmel is play-acting — as he often does — to create a false narrative about this administration’s policies,” Assistant White House Press Secretary Davis Ingle said Thursday.

“Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate.,” Ingle added of Carr, the FCC chairman, just before the second night of Donald Trump‘s GOP midterm convention aka pageant reconvenes. “Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel’s egocentric delusion should insist on proof. Of which they will find none.”

ABC parent company Disney had no comment on the response from the White House when contacted by Deadline. The lack of response is unsurprising given that the company is the midst of an escalating legal and regulatory First Amendment clash with the FCC over station license renewals and charges of political thumbs on the scale.

Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue had some distinct déjà vu of what Stephen Colbert went through on CBS last year with Talarico, who is looking to flip the Lone Star state for the Dems for the first time in decades. The L.A.-based Kimmel revealed that an on-air sit-down with Talarico would not air on ABC tonight.

After naming off various political candidates including Trump, who Kimmel has talked to over the years, the Live! host put federal regulatory enforcement under the spotlight. “[The] FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions,” Kimmel said. “Guest bookings, it would seem, they don’t like.”

“And so, out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas who would have to deal with this nonsense, my interview tomorrow with James Talarico will not air on television,” he stated. “It will be posted on YouTube instead.”

Interestingly, Talarico, who is in Los Angeles today and Friday for a series of deep-pocket Hollywood fundraisers, was not officially listed as a guest on Kimmel before the host made his announcement. In a separate interview with MS NOW’s Symone Sanders Townsend today on The Weeknight, Talarico called the Kimmel situation the “most dangerous form of cancel culture.” With the knowledge that much of the consumption of late-night shows actually happens online anyway, the candidate went on to say: “I’m still hopeful that we can have this interview on the air. So we’ll see what happens tonight.”

Between Trump in Texas and Talarico in California, we certainly will.

At the same time, with the wounds still fresh from Disney’s sudden sidelining of Kimmel for almost a week a year ago over affiliate fallout from a remark he made about the tragic assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, there is a tendency for some to get lost in the weeds of this. There is also a tendency for some to start shouting about equal-time rules without a read of the fine print.

The equal time rule requires broadcasters that feature political candidates offer comparable airtime to rivals — if it is requested. Daytime and late-night talks shows have long operated under the assumption that they fell under an exemption for news and news interview programming. But in January, Carr issued guidance suggesting that such talk shows may not be free from the rule.

The equal time rule also is often misunderstood. It applies to political candidates in a certain cycle. So, for instance, Ted Cruz’s appearance on The View this week makes no difference because he’s not up for reelection this midterm.

Carr has argued that nothing is preventing late-night or daytime talk shows from featuring a political candidate as a guest. They just have to be prepared to offer time to rivals as well.

As ABC pushes back on Carr’s investigation of The View, the network’s argument is one of selective enforcement as the FCC chairman has not singled out other broadcasters, like conservative talk radio. The network has also pointed to a 2002 letter from the FCC confirming the show’s exemption from the equal time rule. The network also has characterized the equal time rule as unworkable, given that its stations may be on the hook not just for major party candidates but also third-party rivals.

Again, let’s see what happens tonight.

Worth noting that when the now axed Colbert’s interview with Talarico was shifted over to YouTube, it got a huge number of views and the candidate raised more than $2.5 million in just over 24 hours. That might be history worth repeating itself for the Texas Democrat, false narrative or not.

In the latest twist in the Jimmy Kimmel–James Talarico interview drama, the White House is now accusing the ABC late-night host and his network of spinning a fake tale of federal strong-arming.

Put another way, Team Trump insists there was never pressure put on Kimmel and ABC from the Trump administration to scuttle an interview with the poll-topping Texas Democrat and Senate hopeful.

“Jimmy Kimmel is play-acting — as he often does — to create a false narrative about this administration’s policies,” Assistant White House Press Secretary Davis Ingle said Thursday.

“Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate.,” Ingle added of Carr, the FCC chairman, just before the second night of Donald Trump‘s GOP midterm convention aka pageant reconvenes. “Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel’s egocentric delusion should insist on proof. Of which they will find none.”

ABC parent company Disney had no comment on the response from the White House when contacted by Deadline. The lack of response is unsurprising given that the company is the midst of an escalating legal and regulatory First Amendment clash with the FCC over station license renewals and charges of political thumbs on the scale.

Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue had some distinct déjà vu of what Stephen Colbert went through on CBS last year with Talarico, who is looking to flip the Lone Star state for the Dems for the first time in decades. The L.A.-based Kimmel revealed that an on-air sit-down with Talarico would not air on ABC tonight.

After naming off various political candidates including Trump, who Kimmel has talked to over the years, the Live! host put federal regulatory enforcement under the spotlight. “[The] FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions,” Kimmel said. “Guest bookings, it would seem, they don’t like.”

“And so, out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas who would have to deal with this nonsense, my interview tomorrow with James Talarico will not air on television,” he stated. “It will be posted on YouTube instead.”

Interestingly, Talarico, who is in Los Angeles today and Friday for a series of deep-pocket Hollywood fundraisers, was not officially listed as a guest on Kimmel before the host made his announcement. In a separate interview with MS NOW’s Symone Sanders Townsend today on The Weeknight, Talarico called the Kimmel situation the “most dangerous form of cancel culture.” With the knowledge that much of the consumption of late-night shows actually happens online anyway, the candidate went on to say: “I’m still hopeful that we can have this interview on the air. So we’ll see what happens tonight.”

Between Trump in Texas and Talarico in California, we certainly will.

At the same time, with the wounds still fresh from Disney’s sudden sidelining of Kimmel for almost a week a year ago over affiliate fallout from a remark he made about the tragic assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, there is a tendency for some to get lost in the weeds of this. There is also a tendency for some to start shouting about equal-time rules without a read of the fine print.

The equal time rule requires broadcasters that feature political candidates offer comparable airtime to rivals — if it is requested. Daytime and late-night talks shows have long operated under the assumption that they fell under an exemption for news and news interview programming. But in January, Carr issued guidance suggesting that such talk shows may not be free from the rule.

The equal time rule also is often misunderstood. It applies to political candidates in a certain cycle. So, for instance, Ted Cruz’s appearance on The View this week makes no difference because he’s not up for reelection this midterm.

Carr has argued that nothing is preventing late-night or daytime talk shows from featuring a political candidate as a guest. They just have to be prepared to offer time to rivals as well.

As ABC pushes back on Carr’s investigation of The View, the network’s argument is one of selective enforcement as the FCC chairman has not singled out other broadcasters, like conservative talk radio. The network has also pointed to a 2002 letter from the FCC confirming the show’s exemption from the equal time rule. The network also has characterized the equal time rule as unworkable, given that its stations may be on the hook not just for major party candidates but also third-party rivals.

Again, let’s see what happens tonight.

Worth noting that when the now axed Colbert’s interview with Talarico was shifted over to YouTube, it got a huge number of views and the candidate raised more than $2.5 million in just over 24 hours. That might be history worth repeating itself for the Texas Democrat, false narrative or not.

In the latest twist in the Jimmy Kimmel–James Talarico interview drama, the White House is now accusing the ABC late-night host and his network of spinning a fake tale of federal strong-arming.

Put another way, Team Trump insists there was never pressure put on Kimmel and ABC from the Trump administration to scuttle an interview with the poll-topping Texas Democrat and Senate hopeful.

“Jimmy Kimmel is play-acting — as he often does — to create a false narrative about this administration’s policies,” Assistant White House Press Secretary Davis Ingle said Thursday.

“Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate.,” Ingle added of Carr, the FCC chairman, just before the second night of Donald Trump‘s GOP midterm convention aka pageant reconvenes. “Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel’s egocentric delusion should insist on proof. Of which they will find none.”

ABC parent company Disney had no comment on the response from the White House when contacted by Deadline. The lack of response is unsurprising given that the company is the midst of an escalating legal and regulatory First Amendment clash with the FCC over station license renewals and charges of political thumbs on the scale.

Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue had some distinct déjà vu of what Stephen Colbert went through on CBS last year with Talarico, who is looking to flip the Lone Star state for the Dems for the first time in decades. The L.A.-based Kimmel revealed that an on-air sit-down with Talarico would not air on ABC tonight.

After naming off various political candidates including Trump, who Kimmel has talked to over the years, the Live! host put federal regulatory enforcement under the spotlight. “[The] FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions,” Kimmel said. “Guest bookings, it would seem, they don’t like.”

“And so, out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas who would have to deal with this nonsense, my interview tomorrow with James Talarico will not air on television,” he stated. “It will be posted on YouTube instead.”

Interestingly, Talarico, who is in Los Angeles today and Friday for a series of deep-pocket Hollywood fundraisers, was not officially listed as a guest on Kimmel before the host made his announcement. In a separate interview with MS NOW’s Symone Sanders Townsend today on The Weeknight, Talarico called the Kimmel situation the “most dangerous form of cancel culture.” With the knowledge that much of the consumption of late-night shows actually happens online anyway, the candidate went on to say: “I’m still hopeful that we can have this interview on the air. So we’ll see what happens tonight.”

Between Trump in Texas and Talarico in California, we certainly will.

At the same time, with the wounds still fresh from Disney’s sudden sidelining of Kimmel for almost a week a year ago over affiliate fallout from a remark he made about the tragic assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, there is a tendency for some to get lost in the weeds of this. There is also a tendency for some to start shouting about equal-time rules without a read of the fine print.

The equal time rule requires broadcasters that feature political candidates offer comparable airtime to rivals — if it is requested. Daytime and late-night talks shows have long operated under the assumption that they fell under an exemption for news and news interview programming. But in January, Carr issued guidance suggesting that such talk shows may not be free from the rule.

The equal time rule also is often misunderstood. It applies to political candidates in a certain cycle. So, for instance, Ted Cruz’s appearance on The View this week makes no difference because he’s not up for reelection this midterm.

Carr has argued that nothing is preventing late-night or daytime talk shows from featuring a political candidate as a guest. They just have to be prepared to offer time to rivals as well.

As ABC pushes back on Carr’s investigation of The View, the network’s argument is one of selective enforcement as the FCC chairman has not singled out other broadcasters, like conservative talk radio. The network has also pointed to a 2002 letter from the FCC confirming the show’s exemption from the equal time rule. The network also has characterized the equal time rule as unworkable, given that its stations may be on the hook not just for major party candidates but also third-party rivals.

Again, let’s see what happens tonight.

Worth noting that when the now axed Colbert’s interview with Talarico was shifted over to YouTube, it got a huge number of views and the candidate raised more than $2.5 million in just over 24 hours. That might be history worth repeating itself for the Texas Democrat, false narrative or not.

In the latest twist in the Jimmy Kimmel–James Talarico interview drama, the White House is now accusing the ABC late-night host and his network of spinning a fake tale of federal strong-arming.

Put another way, Team Trump insists there was never pressure put on Kimmel and ABC from the Trump administration to scuttle an interview with the poll-topping Texas Democrat and Senate hopeful.

“Jimmy Kimmel is play-acting — as he often does — to create a false narrative about this administration’s policies,” Assistant White House Press Secretary Davis Ingle said Thursday.

“Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate.,” Ingle added of Carr, the FCC chairman, just before the second night of Donald Trump‘s GOP midterm convention aka pageant reconvenes. “Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel’s egocentric delusion should insist on proof. Of which they will find none.”

ABC parent company Disney had no comment on the response from the White House when contacted by Deadline. The lack of response is unsurprising given that the company is the midst of an escalating legal and regulatory First Amendment clash with the FCC over station license renewals and charges of political thumbs on the scale.

Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue had some distinct déjà vu of what Stephen Colbert went through on CBS last year with Talarico, who is looking to flip the Lone Star state for the Dems for the first time in decades. The L.A.-based Kimmel revealed that an on-air sit-down with Talarico would not air on ABC tonight.

After naming off various political candidates including Trump, who Kimmel has talked to over the years, the Live! host put federal regulatory enforcement under the spotlight. “[The] FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions,” Kimmel said. “Guest bookings, it would seem, they don’t like.”

“And so, out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas who would have to deal with this nonsense, my interview tomorrow with James Talarico will not air on television,” he stated. “It will be posted on YouTube instead.”

Interestingly, Talarico, who is in Los Angeles today and Friday for a series of deep-pocket Hollywood fundraisers, was not officially listed as a guest on Kimmel before the host made his announcement. In a separate interview with MS NOW’s Symone Sanders Townsend today on The Weeknight, Talarico called the Kimmel situation the “most dangerous form of cancel culture.” With the knowledge that much of the consumption of late-night shows actually happens online anyway, the candidate went on to say: “I’m still hopeful that we can have this interview on the air. So we’ll see what happens tonight.”

Between Trump in Texas and Talarico in California, we certainly will.

At the same time, with the wounds still fresh from Disney’s sudden sidelining of Kimmel for almost a week a year ago over affiliate fallout from a remark he made about the tragic assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, there is a tendency for some to get lost in the weeds of this. There is also a tendency for some to start shouting about equal-time rules without a read of the fine print.

The equal time rule requires broadcasters that feature political candidates offer comparable airtime to rivals — if it is requested. Daytime and late-night talks shows have long operated under the assumption that they fell under an exemption for news and news interview programming. But in January, Carr issued guidance suggesting that such talk shows may not be free from the rule.

The equal time rule also is often misunderstood. It applies to political candidates in a certain cycle. So, for instance, Ted Cruz’s appearance on The View this week makes no difference because he’s not up for reelection this midterm.

Carr has argued that nothing is preventing late-night or daytime talk shows from featuring a political candidate as a guest. They just have to be prepared to offer time to rivals as well.

As ABC pushes back on Carr’s investigation of The View, the network’s argument is one of selective enforcement as the FCC chairman has not singled out other broadcasters, like conservative talk radio. The network has also pointed to a 2002 letter from the FCC confirming the show’s exemption from the equal time rule. The network also has characterized the equal time rule as unworkable, given that its stations may be on the hook not just for major party candidates but also third-party rivals.

Again, let’s see what happens tonight.

Worth noting that when the now axed Colbert’s interview with Talarico was shifted over to YouTube, it got a huge number of views and the candidate raised more than $2.5 million in just over 24 hours. That might be history worth repeating itself for the Texas Democrat, false narrative or not.

Jimmy Kimmel‘s interview with James Talarico was posted to YouTube on Thursday evening rather than the late-night host’s ABC broadcast amid concerns over an FCC enforcement action.

“Why are they so scared of you?” Kimmel asked Talarico at the outset of the 20 minute interview, noting that Stephen Colbert also posted a sit down with the Texas U.S. Senate candidate in February over concerns it would invoke the the rule.

“They are worried that we’re going to win this race in Texas,” Talarico said. “But we are the underdogs until the last vote is counted.”

For decades, daytime and late night TV talk shows have operated on the assumption that they were exempt from the FCC’s equal time rule, which requires broadcasters who feature candidates to provide comparable time to their rivals, if it is requested.

But in January, the FCC under chairman Brendan Carr, appointed by Donald Trump, issued guidance to broadcasters that TV talk shows may not be exempt, a move that critics saw as a regulatory effort to crackdown on daytime and late-night hosts the president does not like. Weeks later, the FCC started an investigation of The View after it featured Talarico as a guest. The equal time rule includes an exemption for news coverage and news interviews.

ABC has pushed back against the FCC’s actions, releasing a 2002 letter from the FCC affirming that The View was exempt. The network also has argued that the FCC is selectively enforcing the rule, as its January guidance did not address talk radio, where conservative hosts routinely feature political candidates, including Talarico’s Republican opponent, Ken Paxton.

Kimmel opened his interview by noting that, until recently, the FCC has long recognized that late-night talk shows have been exempt, pointing to Donald Trump’s guest spots.

“When he was running, he was on the show two times, but now I guess he doesn’t like me anymore, or the First Amendment, and so the FCC has threatened me or threaten my show, our network, even our local ABC stations, because they want to make our editorial decisions for us, which of course we cannot accept,” Kimmel said. “And so tonight we’re bypassing the public airwaves and hosting this YouTube interview on YouTube, even though our government would clearly prefer that we not do it at all.” The FCC does not regulate streaming platforms.

In a statement earlier on Thursday, a White House spokesman claimed that Kimmel was creating “a false narrative about this administration’s policies.

“Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate,” a spokesperson said.

Carr has not commented, but previously said that the TV talk shows are free to feature political candidates, but they may be on the hook to offer time to their competitors. He also suggested that the Colbert interview was a publicity stunt designed to drive up fundraising for Talarico.

In his monologue on the Jimmy Kimmel Live TV broadcast, Kimmel challenged the White House’s statement. He told the audience that he would be interviewing Talarico but viewers would not see it. He called the threat of FCC action “yet another attack on free speech, something that is all too familiar for the show for us.” Kimmel also said that he would “love” to interview Paxton, but the rule would not just apply to Talarico’s GOP rival. “Our affiliates in Texas would have to give equal time to as many candidates as there are on the ballot. There’s about 10 candidates on the ballot,” Kimmel said. ABC’s legal team has argued that offering all candidates such time is untenable.

The interview was otherwise a pretty standard sitdown for Talarico, giving him the opportunity to repeat some of his campaign themes, including how his life has been shaped by religion and Jesus Christ.

It was also clear that Kimmel was a fan of Talarico, and he even ran a portion of one of his campaign ads.

He said, “I’ve been following you for a long time. I’ve been watching your videos. I think what you’re doing is great. I really do. … You hit on something that used to be on all of the bumper stickers. ‘What would Jesus do?’ I think Jesus has been co-opted by this MAGA enterprise in this way. It makes no sense when you really think about it. Would Jesus be throwing people into vans and separating them from their children? Would Jesus be taking kids off food stamps? … This is not the Jesus that I learned about growing up. And you bring it right back to the Bible, to the real teachings of Jesus, and it is it is very authentic.”

If the past is any guide, the Kimmel interview may ultimately draw more attention that Talarico would have gotten via a standard broadcast. His interview with Colbert has drawn 9.5 million views on YouTube, far more than the show’s average.