Talarico Accuses Trump, FCC of "Cancel Culture" Over Kimmel Interview
· BCPosted in: ABC, TV, YouTube | Tagged: kimmel, talarico, trump
Talarico Accuses Trump, FCC of "Cancel Culture" Over Kimmel Interview
Texas State Representative James Talarico called out Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr over "the most dangerous form of cancel culture."
Published Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:07:10 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary
- Jimmy Kimmel says his planned James Talarico interview was pulled from ABC and shifted to YouTube amid FCC pressure.
- Talarico blasts Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr, calling the move the most dangerous form of cancel culture.
- Kimmel says Trump’s FCC threatened his show, ABC, and local affiliates over routine editorial and guest booking choices.
- Kimmel urges viewers to watch the full Talarico interview on YouTube, framing the clash as a First Amendment fight.
On Wednesday night, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel found himself in the same position his friend and peer, Stephen Colbert, had earlier this year. The only difference this time? Texas State Representative James Talarico is now a Democratic Senate hopeful. Otherwise, Talarico has once again found himself in the middle of a war that Trump and his FCC Chair, Brendan Carr, are trying to wage against the networks to get them in line. Originally planning to run an interview with Talarico on ABC's late-night talk show, Kimmel announced that the interview won't air tonight but will be posted on the show's YouTube channel.
Speaking with Symone Sanders for an edition of MS NOW's The Weeknight set to air later today, Talarico accused the Trump Administration and the FCC of engaging in "the most dangerous form of cancel culture" against the network. "I think it's the most dangerous form of cancel culture. People at the top, powerful politicians, powerful media executives, censoring what we watch, what we read, what we say. And that, again, should be a concern to everyone who believes in the First Amendment and believes in the freedom of speech," Talarico noted, adding that he was "still hopeful that we can have this interview on the air. So we'll see what happens tonight."
"You know, for a lot of years, for the whole 20-plus years of our show, in fact, I've been interviewing Americans who are running for office with no problem at all, just like Letterman did, Leno did, Arsenio, etc., etc., I've interviewed a lot of political candidates. From Hillary Clinton to Ted Cruz to Donald Trump," Kimmel shared with his audience on Wednesday night. "I interviewed Donald Trump when he was running for president in 2015, and at that time, when he was the one sitting next to me, he seemed to have no problem with the idea of talk show hosts interviewing candidates. In fact, he was very eager to come back for another interview, which he did just before he became the nominee in 2016. But for some reason, and I can't seem to figure out what that reason is, something has changed."
"Now that he is president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on simple, traditional editorial decisions. Guest bookings, it would seem, they don't like," Kimmel continued. "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. It will be posted on YouTube instead."
"So, if you want to learn about a candidate for the Senate tomorrow, you will have to go to the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel where you will see it in its entirety. And thank goodness we have that, because in the America we live in right now, that is the best that we can do – until November, of course," Kimmel added, driving home the point that voting in the midterms is more important than ever. "Because that's the most important thing you can do."
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