FCC Chair Criticizes Texas Senate Candidate Over YouTube Interview With Jimmy Kimmel

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr accused Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico of staging a YouTube interview with Jimmy Kimmel to generate clicks and donations. Carr posted on X that the candidate was repeating a tactic previously used on a Stephen Colbert interview, suggesting viewers were being misled about the equal-time rules.

The Kimmel interview, posted to YouTube instead of broadcast, had amassed nearly 7 million views by Saturday. Talarico’s campaign did not immediately comment on Carr’s remarks.

"The Equal Time statute does not prohibit anyone from interviewing anyone on broadcast TV. It is about more speech, not less," Carr wrote, adding that the rule requires comparable airtime only when it applies.

The dispute follows the FCC’s January guidance that television talk shows may not be exempt from the equal-time requirement, a move the agency says is within its authority. Critics have described the guidance as a targeted effort against certain programs.

ABC, which airs Kimmel’s show, has challenged the FCC’s enforcement in court, arguing that the rule is impractical for talk shows that could be asked to provide equal time to dozens of candidates. The network also contends that the agency’s actions constitute selective enforcement.

The White House dismissed the interview as a staged effort to create a false narrative, and a University of Texas Democrats group highlighted the contrast between Talarico’s blocked appearance and Senator Ted Cruz’s appearance on a cable sports program, noting that the equal-time rule does not apply to cable broadcasts.