Stephen Colbert Interview Blowup Triggers 24-Hour Campaign Cash Bonanza for James Talarico

Texas state Representative James Talarico (D) enjoyed a fundraising windfall of $2.5 million in campaign donations towards his primary run for US Senate candidacy, a spike that came within just 24 hours after Stephen Colbert claimed his scheduled interview on The Late Show was pulled by CBS.

Talarico had been scheduled to appear on The Late Show on Monday but, instead of appearing on the broadcast, Colbert told viewers that network lawyers had advised against airing the segment over concerns it could violate the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal-time” rule. The segment was later uploaded to YouTube, where it rapidly amassed millions of views.

The move triggered widespread backlash and a wave of small-dollar donations to the lawmaker’s campaign in the day since. He is currently running in primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) to compete for the senatorial seat.

Talarico himself broke the news on Wednesday morning via X:

During the interview on YouTube, which has garnered 5.3 million views as of Wednesday morning, the lawmaker warned that “the most dangerous kind of cancel culture” is “the kind that comes from the top.”

“A threat to one of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights,” he said.

Meanwhile, at CBS, the fallout continued. The network issued a statement late Tuesday denying it had dictated to Colbert how to handle the situation and that its legal team were merely offering advice, a line that the host blasted as “crap” later that night.

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