Late Night host Stephen Colbert’s interview with James Talarico, the Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, broke a three-year record for views on his YouTube channel, after he said CBS pulled the segment from broadcast.
The nearly 15-minute interview with the current state representative was shared on Colbert’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, the morning after the segment was scrapped, citing concerns it would break the FCC’s equal time rules.
As of Wednesday morning, the interview had gained 5.42 million views. The last time a video for Colbert surpassed 4 million on the channel was three years ago, when Prince Harry’s conversation with the host was shared on January 11, 2023.
Why It Matters
Overall, viewing figures for live late-night shows have declined in recent years, and while social media clips have become the place for those shows to maintain an audience, those numbers have also steadily dropped off for some hosts.
What To Know
CBS’ decision to pull the segment immediately sparked debate on social media, with some on the left saying this was an attempt by the Trump administration to keep views it did not like off the air. But the move led to the YouTube video gaining some of the highest viewing figures Colbert has seen in years.
While some monologues and other show segments consistently gain a few million views, interviews have generally fallen well below 4 million in recent years, with some receiving a few hundred thousand.
Other than the Prince Harry 2023 interview, a conversation with former Vice President Kamala Harris on July 31, 2025, had reached 3.66 million views as of Wednesday morning, and a November 2022 interview with former first lady Michelle Obama reached 2.1 million.
By comparison, beyond five years ago, interview segments regularly achieved upwards of that 4 million mark. In 2018, Colbert spoke with New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as she ran for Congress and that chat has now hit 5.1 million views. An interview with President Donald Trump from 10 years ago currently sits at 17 million views.
Colbert said on Monday’s broadcast that network attorneys instructed him “in no uncertain terms” not to air or even mention the pulled segment, over worries about election fairness with primaries coming up in Texas.
“So I’m not allowed to air the interview,” he said, adding that he posted the conversation on The Late Show’s YouTube channel instead.
During the interview, Talarico said he believed Trump was worried that Democrats were about to flip Texas, though it has been over 30 years since a Democrat was elected to statewide office in the state. Trump won the state in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Talarico, 36, is a Presbyterian pastor who has quickly gained national recognition in recent months, as he goes head-to-head with Representative Jasmine Crockett for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in the midterms.
What People Are Saying
Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday: “We obeyed our network and put the interview on YouTube, where it’s gotten millions of views. And I can see why. Talarico is an interesting guy. I don’t know if he should be the senator, but it was a good discussion. I wish we could have put it on the show, where no one would’ve watched it.”
CBS said in a statement: “The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates… and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. The Late Show decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”
What Happens Next
While Talarico is currently leading the polls for the Democratic primary, he still faces an uphill battle for the Senate seat. A new poll shows both Talarico and Crockett trailing two of three leading Republican candidates in hypothetical Senate matchups and tying with state Attorney General Ken Paxton. GOP Senator John Cornyn, who currently holds the seat, is also seeking reelection.
The state has not elected a Democratic Senator since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988.
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