Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel claimed on Wednesday that President Trump’s administration forced him to cancel the live airing of an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico.
The host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” said on his broadcast that pressure from the Federal Communications Commission regarding candidate interviews forced the show to move it to YouTube.
“Now that [Mr. Trump 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,” Mr. Kimmel said.
He continued, “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 air on YouTube instead.”
Mr. Kimmel insinuated that the FCC has political interests in keeping Mr. Talarico off the air.
The FCC enforces an equal-time rule ensuring all candidates have the same access to broadcast time.
In Trump’s second term, the FCC has issued new guidance challenging an exemption that late-night shows enjoyed from the equal-time rule.
It’s not the first time a network has canceled plans to air an interview with Mr. Talarico.
In February, CBS canceled the live broadcast of an interview with him on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to comply with the equal-time rule ahead of the March Democratic primary. The network instead put the interview on YouTube.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has a history of criticizing Mr. Kimmel.
Last year, the FCC chief alleged that the ABC host appeared to “directly mislead” the public with his commentary on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, adding that broadcasters have an “obligation to serve the public interest.”
ABC recently called media reports that Mr. Kimmel’s show will end in 2027 “inaccurate.”
In his monologue Wednesday, Mr. Kimmel called for voters to reject the administration’s policies in the midterm elections.
“In the America we live in right now, that is the best we can do,” he said of posting the interview on YouTube. “Until November, of course. Make sure you’re registered to vote, by the way, because that’s the most important thing you can do.”
Mr. Talarico is facing off against the state’s Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Lone Star State in November. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win control of the Senate.
The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.
The FCC did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Kimmel’s remarks.
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