Stephen Colbert and a Texas Democrat named James Talarico cooked up a scheme to make it look like Trump's FCC silenced a liberal politician – and it unraveled within 24 hours.
CBS put out a statement confirming it never blocked Colbert from airing the interview – that the show simply chose not to because it didn't want to give equal time to the other candidates in the race.
Jen Psaki read that statement on air, acknowledged CBS said no one was blocked, and then spent the rest of her show telling her audience the opposite – that Trump's FCC invented a secret new rule to silence Democrats.
The Scam Was Simple and It Worked Perfectly
Here's what actually happened.
James Talarico (D-TX) is running in the Texas Democratic Senate primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
He taped an interview with Colbert, and CBS lawyers warned the show that airing it could trigger the FCC's equal time rule – which would require giving Crockett and the other primary candidate comparable airtime.
Colbert chose not to deal with that.
Instead, he posted the interview on YouTube and told his audience Trump's FCC had invented some terrifying new censorship regime.
The "new rule" Colbert described with such dramatic outrage is Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934.
Not new.
Not invented by Trump.
Ninety-two years old.
Republican commentator Scott Jennings put it plainly: two white Democrats colluded to harm the political ambitions of a Black woman, generated millions of views and millions in campaign donations for Talarico – all built on a lie they knew wasn't true.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr Called It Exactly What It Was
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr didn't mince words after Colbert and Talarico ran their operation.
He said the American people now have more trust in gas station sushi than they do in the national news media.
He's right.
Carr confirmed the agency plans to strictly enforce equal time rules going forward – and that talk shows can no longer automatically assume they qualify for the bona fide news exemption that previously shielded them.
That's not censorship.
That's a 92-year-old law being enforced against people who thought the rules didn't apply to them.
The White House was equally direct: Colbert is a failed host whose own network canceled his show – and Brendan Carr is simply doing his job.
The Moment Nobody Saw Coming
Here's where it gets genuinely strange.
Psaki's show ended with Jasmine Crockett – the woman Talarico and Colbert's scheme was specifically designed to sideline – telling the truth on live television.
Crockett confirmed CBS was never blocked from airing anything.
Colbert just didn't want to give her equal time.
Think about that for a second.
The biggest Democrat lie of the week got debunked by a Democrat on a Democrat network – while the host was still in the building lying about it.
The takeaway isn't complicated.
Talarico saw a fundraising opportunity and took it.
Colbert handed him the megaphone.
The media – Psaki included – knew the truth and pushed the lie anyway.
Psaki didn't stumble into it.
She read the denial out loud, set it down, and spent the next hour telling her audience the opposite – because her audience wanted to believe Trump was silencing Democrats, and Psaki decided that was more valuable than the truth sitting right in front of her.
That's not ignorance.
That's a choice.
Sources:
- Warren Squire, "MS NOW's Jen Psaki Learned the Truth About Talarico's 'Banned' Interview But Pushed Lies Anyway," Twitchy, February 19, 2026.
- Mirna Alsharif, "Stephen Colbert says CBS didn't air interview out of fear of FCC," NBC News, February 17, 2026.
- Staff, "FCC Chairman Defends Equal-Time Rules in Colbert, Talarico Interview Dispute," Bloomberg, February 18, 2026.
- Staff, "CBS Denies Forcing Stephen Colbert to Not Air Interview With Democratic Candidate," Variety, February 18, 2026.
- Staff, "What is the 'equal time' rule that Colbert says led CBS to pull his Talarico interview?" PBS NewsHour, February 18, 2026.
