What to know about the 'equal time' rule Stephen Colbert says led CBS to pull his Talarico interview

Stephen Colbert's comments that network executives pulled his interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico over fears it would violate regulatory guidance from the Trump administration has prompted a conversation about the rules governing how media outlets treat political coverage.

The concern about the interview, which the late-night host referenced in his Monday night show and later posted in full online, stems from a requirement that broadcast stations give equal time to political candidates when they appear on-air.

Although there are multiple exemptions to the provision, the Trump administration through the Federal Communications Commission — which regulates the nation's airwaves — has been moving to clamp down specifically on programs like Colbert's, which the agency has suggested may be “motivated by partisan purposes.”

“He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said on his program, ”The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, CBS said Colbert's show “was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates” in the March 3 Democratic primary, “and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.” Thereafter, the network noted, it was decided "to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”

Talarico, a critic of President Donald Trump, posted a nearly minute-long clip of his interview with Colbert on X and called it “the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see.”

The Communications Act of 1934, the wide-ranging legislation that for nearly a century has broadly governed use of the nation's airwaves, includes a provision that applies specifically to coverage of political candidates. If a station gives airtime to one candidate, then the same station must offer comparable time to other candidates competing in the given contest, should they ask for it.

It also delves into campaign advertising airtime sold by stations and networks. If a station sells airtime to one candidate, then it also has to offer to sell the same amount of time to other candidates for the same office.

There are exceptions to this rule, including newscasts, “bona fide” interview programs, coverage of live events or documentaries. But if candidates host TV shows or appear in non-news, entertainment programming, that does trigger the provision.

Equal time also only applies to broadcast television and radio. So pieces on cable, streaming services or social media aren't included.

The rule requiring networks to give equal time to political candidates hasn’t traditionally been applied to talk shows, but the Trump administration has made moves to change that.

In January, the Federal Communications Commission issued new guidance warning late-night and daytime hosts that they need to give political candidates equal time, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr questioning the talk show exemption and positing that hosts were “motivated by partisan purposes.”

“The FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” according to the public notice.

The notice also said that television networks would need to apply for exemptions for individual programs.

In his comments, Colbert noted that the equal time provision applies to broadcast but not streaming platforms. Subsequently, his nearly 15-minute interview with Talarico was posted to the YouTube page for Colbert’s show, with the host noting specifically that the segment was only appearing online and not on broadcast.

Carr, appointed by Trump to lead the agency last year, has often criticized network talk shows, suggesting last year that probing ABC’s “The View” — whose hosts have frequently been critical of Trump — over the exemption might be “worthwhile.”

The FCC did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday.

Created by the FCC in 1949, this rule mandated that broadcasters present contrasting viewpoints when covering publicly important and controversial issues. Unlike the equal time provision of the Communications Act, this was an FCC rule, not a law.

It didn't apply specifically to political candidates, but topics. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the doctrine on a First Amendment challenge in 1969, with the court writing that the limited availability of broadcast spectrum justified regulation.

In 1987, the FCC repealed the rule, arguing that spectrum scarcity was no longer an issue, and then-President Ronald Reagan vetoed Congress' attempt to codify it into law.

Associated Press reporter David Bauder contributed to this report.

Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

FILE - Stephen Colbert attends the 36th Annual PaleyFest "An Evening with Stephen Colbert" in Los Angeles on March 16, 2019. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C., arrested an 18-year-old man Tuesday after he ran from his vehicle toward the west side of the Capitol Building armed with a shotgun.

Capital Police Chief Michael Sullivan said the unidentified man parked a Mercedes SUV near the Capitol, got out and ran “several hundred yards” toward the building before officers intercepted him and ordered him to the ground.

Speaking at a press conference following the arrest, Sullivan said the gunman was wearing a tactical vest and gloves and had a Kevlar helmet and gas mask in the vehicle. The shotgun was loaded and he had additional rounds on him, the chief said.

Sullivan said the motive was under investigation, including whether members of Congress were the target. Congress is not in session.

Sullivan said the department has video footage, but he asked the public for any footage they might have of the incident.

“Who knows what would have happened if we wouldn’t have officers standing here?” the chief said, adding that the department had run active shooter drills in almost the identical spot in recent months.

Sullivan said the young man was not known to authorities and described him as not being from the area. The chief said the vehicle was not registered to the suspect, who has multiple addresses.

There have been incidents at the Capitol in recent years, including a Capitol Police arrest in 2023 where an Atlanta man armed with a rifle was spotted in a park near the Senate.

Tuesday's arrest comes one week before President Donald Trump's State of the Union address before Congress. Sullivan said the incident does not change the agency's plans. “We take the State of the Union very, very seriously,” he said.

Crime in Washington is down considerably so far in 2026 from 2025, a year when there was a huge drop-off from the previous year. Trump declared an emergency in the city last August to battle crime, leading to the deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard members as well as thousands of federal law enforcement officers and agents.

The officers and agents are still throughout the city. Last week, a Washington man was killed in an encounter with U.S. Marshals Service members. Authorities said the marshals were responding to a call about a person threatening to kidnap and hurt someone while holding a gun. Washington activists have asked for more transparency in that incident, which is under investigation by the city's Metropolitan Police.

The U.S. Capitol is seen Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)