Screenshot via CBS.
James Talarico knew his interview with Stephen Colbert would never air on TV before he flew to New York City last month, but the Texas Democrat and Senate candidate and his team were betting the Late Show host would complain the Trump administration had censored his appearance. They were correct — and it spurred a ton of liberals to donate to his campaign, according to a report from The New York Times on Saturday.
The report started off by talking about the days leading up to Talarico’s much-publicized appearance on Colbert:
Days before the trip, Mr. Colbert’s producers told them the network — nervous about federal regulators — would only post the interview online. The Talarico campaign had a choice: Cancel the trip and crow about the Trump administration trying to muzzle him, or say nothing, film the segment, and hope Mr. Colbert would tell his audience the story of federal interference.
They said nothing and filmed. The YouTube clip gained more than 9 million viewers. Donations poured in. Internal campaign polling by his opponent showed the ground shift in Mr. Talarico’s direction.
Later, the report added “new attention and contributions flooded in” to Talarico’s campaign following his YouTube-only interview with Colbert.
“A lot of that money we got in late from Colbert went to Spanish advertising,” adviser Chuck Rocha told the paper.
Talarico’s chummy conversation with Colbert has been watched more than 9 million times since it was posted to YouTube on February 17. And it quickly gained Talarico plenty of attention after Colbert claimed CBS blocked the interview because it was terrified of how the Trump administration and FCC would react.
“Let’s just call this what it is. Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV because all Trump does is watch TV. Okay?” Colbert said. “He’s like a toddler with too much screen time. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diapers.”
Talarico beat Crockett in the primary last week; he will look to become the first Democratic senator in Texas in more than 30 years later this year.
The post James Talarico Knew His Colbert Interview Would Never Air on TV — Bet on CBS Host Bashing Trump Admin For It first appeared on Mediaite.