The Trump menace looming over late-night TV, briefly defined

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<img alt="Stephen Colbert, wearing a dark suit with a white shirt, sits behind a desk." data-caption="Stephen Colbert on the set of his late-night show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. | Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images" data-portal-copyright="Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/gettyimages-2254403712.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" /> Stephen Colbert on the set of his late-night present, The Late Present with Stephen Colbert. | Scott Kowalchyk/CBS by way of Getty Photographs This story appeared in The Logoff , a day by day publication that helps you keep knowledgeable concerning the Trump administration with out letting political information take over your life. Subscribe here .

Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration is mucking about with late-night TV once more.

What occurred? On Monday evening, comic Stephen Colbert, who hosts CBS’s late-night speak present The Late Present , stated he had been barred by CBS legal professionals from airing an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico over considerations a few Federal Communications Fee (FCC) rule.

Late-night reveals have lengthy been thought-about exempt from one thing referred to as the equal-time rule, which requires equal airtime for candidates contending for a similar workplace. Final month, nevertheless, the Trump administration introduced that it could start to implement the rule. ( The Late Present did publish Colbert’s Talarico interview on YouTube , the place the present isn’t topic to the identical restrictions; it’s racked up greater than 2.7 million views as of Tuesday night.)

Talarico is at the moment going through Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett within the Democratic major, which is able to happen subsequent month (although early voting started at present). Whoever wins will face the Republican nominee in November in a long-shot bid to flip a Republican Senate seat at the moment held by Sen. John Cornyn.

What’s the context? President Donald Trump has lengthy had it out for America’s late-night hosts. Most notably, his administration intervened last year to briefly pressure the comic Jimmy Kimmel, who hosts ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Dwell! , off the air for Kimmel’s feedback concerning the taking pictures dying of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Trump additionally celebrated CBS’s choice final 12 months to cancel Colbert’s Late Present after its present season, writing that “his expertise was even lower than his rankings.” CBS has defended the cancellation, which occurred shortly after its dad or mum firm settled with the Trump administration for $16 million, as a monetary choice.

Why does this matter? The FCC’s newfound ardour for equal-time guidelines is transparently partisan, and it clearly has enamel — along with Kimmel’s suspension final 12 months, the company is reportedly investigating whether or not ABC’s The View violated the identical equal-time rule by interviewing Talarico earlier this month.

And with that, it’s time to sign off…

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