An interview conducted by Jimmy Kimmel with James Talarico, a Texas Democrat running for U.S. Senate, accumulated 5 million views on YouTube within 24 hours of its posting. The segment was originally scheduled to air on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” but was withheld from television broadcast.
Kimmel announced during Wednesday night’s episode that the interview would not be televised due to threats directed at ABC’s affiliate stations by the FCC. The host stated the decision was made out of consideration for local stations, particularly ABC affiliates operating in Texas. Instead of airing on television, the full interview was published on YouTube.
This represents another instance in a pattern of conflicts between late-night programming and the FCC. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr previously threatened ABC following comments Kimmel made regarding an assassination, resulting in the network suspending the host for nearly a week. Talarico has similarly experienced FCC-related broadcasting obstacles. In February, the agency determined that “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” could not broadcast an interview with him, and that segment was subsequently posted to YouTube, where it accumulated over 9 million views.
The 20-minute interview featured Kimmel questioning Talarico about the concerns that Trump and the FCC apparently harbor toward him. Talarico characterized himself and his campaign as underdogs while stating that opposition extends beyond Trump to what he described as a broader corrupt system, noting that his race in Texas involves confronting both a specific politician and institutional challenges.
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