The head of the Federal Communications Commission said the agency is exploring “an enforcement action” against The View after the talk show recently welcomed James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, as a guest.
“We’re taking a look at it,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told reporters on Wednesday, Feb. 18, according to Deadline, without offering additional details.
Earlier this month, the show was reportedly examined for a potential violation of the Equal Time Rule, which generally requires broadcasters to provide comparable airtime to opposing candidates if they request it.
A network source said the program regularly hosts elected officials and political candidates from across the political spectrum to discuss current events and differing viewpoints, consistent with the show’s long-running format. The source also noted that one of Talarico’s Democratic primary opponents, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, has appeared as a recent guest.
During his appearance, Talarico described the Texas primary as “something unique.”
“We’re on the same team, Jasmine and I,” he said. “We’re trying to change the politics of our state and take back this country… I got elected to the state house by flipping a Trump district that no one thought was winnable, in a county that was so red it hadn’t voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter.”
Carr’s comments came days after Stephen Colbert was blocked from airing his interview with Talarico on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Colbert instead posted the interview online, telling broadcast viewers that network lawyers cited the Equal Time Rule and advised he “could not have” Talarico on the show.
CBS later said the interview was not prohibited from airing, but that the show was provided legal guidance that broadcasting it could trigger equal-time obligations for other candidates, including Crockett.
On his Feb. 17 show, Colbert addressed the statement before crumpling it up on air.
“I’m not a lawyer and I don’t want to tell them how to do their jobs,” he said. “But since they seem intent on telling me how to do mine, here we go.”
Colbert added that he understood he could book other guests, and noted he had previously hosted Crockett. He then joked that restrictions extended to even showing her photo without including opponents, before pivoting to a separate comedic aside.
“They told us the language they wanted me to use to describe that equal-time exception. And I used that language,” he said. “So I don’t know what this is about. For the record, I’m not even mad. I really don’t want an adversarial relationship with the network. I never had one.”
Colbert, whose show is scheduled to end in May after 11 years, said he was grateful for the network but surprised it would not “stand up to these bullies.”
“Come on, you’re Paramount. No, you’re more than that. You’re Paramount+,” he joked. “Plus what? I guess we’re all gonna find out pretty soon.”
He closed by saying it was “really surprising” that the statement was released without anyone speaking to him first.
