Jimmy Kimmel Plays Victim as He Misleads Viewers About Why He Can't Air James Talarico Interview
Jimmy Kimmel played dumb on his Wednesday night show while obfuscating why his interview with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico will appear only on his YouTube channel, and not air on the TV broadcast.
The issue is actually quite simple, as Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr has made clear multiple times: Broadcast stations like ABC, NBC, and CBS are governed by different laws than private cable channels — like Fox News, CNN, and MS Now — or online platforms like YouTube.
And the rules for broadcast stations require them to provide equal time to candidates from opposing parties if one side is invited on their air.
The FCC noted in a January public notice memo, “Decades ago, Congress made the decision to prevent covered broadcast television programs from being used to advance certain partisan political purposes. Specifically, through section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, Congress put protections in place to ensure equal access to broadcast station facilities for legally qualified candidates for office, regardless of political affiliation.”
Nonetheless, Kimmel played the victim during his opening monologue on his show Wednesday.
“You know, for a lot of years, for the whole 20-plus years of our show, in fact, I’ve been interviewing Americans who are running for office with no problem at all, just like [David] Letterman did, [Jay] Leno did, Arsenio [Hall], etc. etc. I’ve interviewed a lot of political candidates. From Hilary Clinton to Ted Cruz to Donald Trump himself,” Kimmel said.
“I interviewed Donald Trump when he was running for president in 2015, and at that time, when he was the one sitting next to me, he seemed to have no problem with the idea of talk show hosts interviewing candidates,” the talk show host added.
“In fact, he was very eager to come back for another interview, which he did just before he became the nominee in 2016. But for some reason — and I can’t seem to figure out what that reason is — something has changed,” the late-night host said.
It’s worth noting that he did not mention inviting Trump on the program in 2020 or 2024. Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were guests.
“Now that [Trump is] president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates [and] our local stations, based on simple traditional editorial decisions — guest bookings, it would seem, [that] they don’t like,” Kimmel said.
The something that’s changed is that Kimmel — and “The View” as well — now use their broadcast programs to spew anti-Trump, anti-Republican messaging constantly, with little to no counterbalance.
Under federal law, the broadcast networks — ABC, NBC, CBS — are to operate in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.”
Carr explained in a social media post in January, “For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late-night & daytime talk shows qualify as ‘bona fide news’ programs — even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes.”
“Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities.”
For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late night & daytime talk shows qualify as “bona fide news” programs – even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes.
Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities pic.twitter.com/sWiQmqQHCq
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) January 21, 2026
The Media Research Center determined that in 2025, “The View” had 128 left-leaning guests and only two conservatives.
Similar statistics probably apply to “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Nonetheless, Kimmel played the victim, telling his audience Wednesday, “Out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas, who would have to deal with this nonsense, my interview tomorrow with James Talarico will not air on television. It will be posted on YouTube instead. It will not be on TV.”
“And thank goodness we have that, because in the America we live in right now, that is the best that we can do until November,” he added.
Kimmel knows if he wants to air the Talarico interview on his broadcast channel, he simply needs to offer the same opportunity for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Problem solved.
But Kimmel wants to grandstand and make up controversies centered on the big, bad President Trump, his constant obsession.
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