{"id":47260,"date":"2026-03-19T13:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T20:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=47260"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T20:03:11","slug":"brendan-carrs-equal-time-curveball-crashes-the-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/19\/brendan-carrs-equal-time-curveball-crashes-the-midterms\/","title":{"rendered":"Brendan Carr\u2019s \u2018equal time\u2019 curveball crashes the midterms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The FCC chair’s warnings against partisan bias on broadcast TV talk shows could mean far fewer candidates on the air this year \u2014 especially Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet’s just apply the law in an even-handed, neutral way,\u201d FCC Chair Brendan Carr told POLITICO in late February. \u201cThat’s exactly what I’m doing.\u201d | Illustration by Claudine Hellmuth\/POLITICO (source images via Getty and iStock)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0John Hendel<\/a> 03\/17\/2026 (Politico.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The midterm elections that could upend the final years of Donald Trump\u2019s presidency face a new complication \u2014 his Federal Communications Commission chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brendan Carr\u2019s attempt to resurrect<\/a> enforcement of the FCC\u2019s nearly century-old \u201cequal time\u201d rule has already set off a chain reaction that kept Stephen Colbert\u2019s interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico off the air<\/a> in February. But the rule\u2019s impact on elections could be even more sweeping, media law experts and campaign veterans of both parties told POLITICO, after Carr warned of potential penalties for television stations that fail to be even-handed in offering airtime to political candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One result, some fear, could be the virtual banishing of candidate interviews from broadcast TV talk shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats said they expect their candidates to take the immediate brunt if the FCC\u2019s pressure causes TV programs to avoid interviews that could cause trouble. Some Republicans, meanwhile, worry that a future Democratic-led FCC will turn the same rules against one of the GOP\u2019s longtime media bastions: conservative talk radio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Democrats, concerns about Carr\u2019s tactics are heightened by his openly combative pro-Trump persona, history of launching investigations of liberal-leaning programs<\/a> and repeated threats to pull the licenses of outlets<\/a> he accuses of \u201cdistorting\u201d the news<\/a> \u2014 a threat he revived over the weekend<\/a> while reposting Trump\u2019s complaints<\/a> about news coverage of the war in Iran. Carr\u2019s efforts have gotten praise from Trump, who wrote Sunday night<\/a> that he was \u201cthrilled\u201d to see his FCC chair \u201clooking at the licenses of some of these Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic \u2018News\u2019 Organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Carr\u2019s remarks on war coverage were driving headlines last weekend<\/a>, his efforts to reimpose enforcement of the commission\u2019s equal time rules threaten to have a more tangible effect on the interviews that millions of viewers see during the midterm campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue reflects one of the paradoxes of the modern media environment, as broadcasters continue to fall under federal regulations from the early radio era while cable networks, podcasters, streamers and social media influencers enjoy free rein. For Democrats whose candidates failed to match Trump<\/a> in engaging with digital media<\/a> in 2024, network shows like those hosted by Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel are one of few friendly havens where they can take their message to a mass audience ahead of midterms that will decide control of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carr has pledged fairness in how he enforces the rules \u2014 despite saying in January that his warnings about the equal-time rule were not aimed at talk radio<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just apply the law in an even-handed, neutral way,\u201d Carr told POLITICO in late February. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats don\u2019t buy it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat you\u2019re going to see is a chilling effect that I guarantee will not be applied across the board to candidates of both parties,\u201d said Ian Russell, a veteran campaign operative at Beacon Media who formerly served as deputy executive director and national political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veteran communications attorney Andrew Jay Schwartzman said the equal time rule shouldn\u2019t normally pose any serious burden for broadcasters, but that Carr\u2019s approach to his job has so politicized the regulatory landscape that it\u2019s likely to chill stations from carrying candidate interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that we\u2019re going to see many fewer appearances,\u201d Schwartzman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In
Then-Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton\u2019s appearance on \u201cThe Arsenio Hall Show\u201d was a striking merger of politics and pop culture. But would it have run afoul of the modern FCC\u2019s enforcement of \u201cequal time\u201d rules? | Reed Saxon\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018More speech\u2019?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At issue is a 1934 law requiring broadcast stations that put a political candidate on the air to offer comparable time to the candidate\u2019s rivals. While broadcasters must provide this time if a candidate wants it, it does not necessarily have to be on the same program or format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

For decades, the FCC\u2019s enforcement has left plenty of room for daytime and late-night TV to feature political candidates in marquee moments, such as Bill Clinton playing the saxophone<\/a> on \u201cThe Arsenio Hall Show\u201d in 1992, George W. Bush reading a David Letterman Top Ten list<\/a> in 2000, and Trump joking with Jimmy Fallon<\/a> (and Colbert<\/a>) during the 2016 campaign. Twenty years ago, the commission declared that Jay Leno\u2019s chats with guests on \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d qualified as \u201cbona fide news interviews,\u201d exempting them from the equal time requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after entering the White House in 2017, Trump complained<\/a> that late-night TV catered to Democrats and that more Republicans should get equal time. And this January, Carr warned late-night and daytime TV talk shows that they don\u2019t necessarily qualify as \u201cbona fide news\u201d \u2014 especially if their programming decisions are \u201cmotivated by partisan purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specific programs and TV stations that think they merit the news exemption should petition the FCC for a ruling to that effect, Carr said. Otherwise, stations carrying these interviews will have to file public notices with the commission disclosing the candidates\u2019 airtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carr disputes that he is trying to quash political speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole idea here is more speech, not less,\u201d Carr told POLITICO at a Feb. 18 press conference. \u201cYou can have more candidates on. There is zero censorship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But critics such as Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) say Carr is applying the law in a way that hurts Democratic candidates attempting to gain visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    \u201cI think that he\u2019s a partisan, and a partisan is not supposed to interpret the federal law in a way that benefits his allies and punishes his enemies,\u201d Schatz told POLITICO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Colbert\u2019s Talarico interview fell victim to the rule on Feb. 16, when the \u201cLate Show\u201d host told his viewers that CBS\u2019 lawyers had forced him to sideline a planned conversation with the Texas Democratic Senate candidate. (Instead, the interview appeared on the show\u2019s YouTube channel). The flap came a little more than two weeks before Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Carr disputed the idea<\/a> that he was to blame for blocking the interview, telling reporters that Colbert could have aired it as long as the network gave comparable time to Talarico\u2019s opponents. CBS made the same argument in its response to the furor. (Colbert replied<\/a> that he had already had Crockett on his show twice.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The FCC had separately opened an investigation into whether the ABC daytime talk show \u201cThe View\u201d violated the equal time rule when it aired its own interview with Talarico, Fox News reported<\/a> in early February. That probe is ongoing, Car has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Consequences for violating the rule would likely be minimal under the law, which would penalize only broadcasters showing patterns of willful violation, Schwartzman said. \u201cEverybody knows this is all bluster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Carr, though, has phrased some of his warnings as cautions to TV stations whose broadcasting licenses come up for renewal: \u201cThe law is clear,\u201d he wrote in his complaint last weekend about allegedly skewed news coverage. \u201cBroadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"President-elect
    Then-President-elect Donald Trump speaks with Brendan Carr before a test launch of a SpaceX rocket in November 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. | Brandon Bell\/Pool via AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s ultimately impossible to know how many interviews may never happen as a result of the guidance, or how many more TV hosts will just host candidates on platforms like YouTube to avoid triggering the equal time requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Daniel Suhr, a conservative lawyer and Carr supporter heading the Center for American Rights, said the FCC guidance could reshape the media landscape by boosting Republicans and preventing TV hosts from advancing their own personal political agendas. He said he hopes it leads to more voices on air but acknowledged a possibility that the hosts \u201cdecide to quit playing the game and take the ball home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Either way, Suhr said he believes Carr is on the right track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWe have a window, I think, to make real, permanent, structural change in the media landscape,\u201d he told POLITICO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Broadcasters appear to be wrestling over how to comply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    During a recent Breitbart event, Carr told attendees that Disney is defending \u201cThe View\u201d as a bona fide news program to agency officials. But at the same time, he said, some local TV stations in Texas have filed equal time notices with the FCC over its Talarico interview \u2014 \u201csignifying that they don\u2019t necessarily agree with Disney that \u2018The View\u2019 qualifies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In two of those public notices, the ABC affiliates in Sweetwater<\/a> and Amarillo, Texas,<\/a> wrote that Talarico had appeared on \u201cThe View\u201d for \u201ca total period of 10 minutes and 6 seconds\u201d on Feb. 2, and that a photo of Talarico and Crockett \u201cappeared twice for approximately 7 seconds.\u201d A third station based in southwest Oklahoma filed an FCC notice<\/a> disclosing two interviews that \u201cThe View\u201d had conducted with Crockett and Talarico in January and February, respectively, despite noting that \u201cABC classified these programs as bona fide interview programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Democrats, who have limited means to challenge Carr\u2019s agenda, said they worry that he wields too much leverage over broadcasters, some of them owned by large conglomerates that have mergers and other regulatory business<\/a> in front of the commission. They also point to a furor last fall in which Carr\u2019s threats to enforce a rarely used policy against \u201cnews distortion\u201d prompted ABC to briefly suspend Kimmel\u2019s late-night talk show<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Broadcast lawyers are \u201cworried about what their bosses would do \u2014 because they\u2019re playing on a different playing field,\u201d said Russell, the former DCCC political director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some Democrats in the midst of what will likely be nail-biter campaigns for Congress don\u2019t trust Carr to oversee the TV markets where they\u2019ll be trying to draw attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIt appears to me that the FCC chair is a political hack wielding the commission\u2019s power to run little errands for the president,\u201d Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is facing a tough reelection fight in Georgia, told POLITICO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2018Democrats will remember\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Some Republicans fear Carr\u2019s strategy will backfire on the GOP if Democrats regain power in Washington and apply the same equal time pressure to talk radio, which remains a bastion for conservative content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Conservative radio programming became prominent in the 1990s with hosts including Rush Limbaugh. Top voices such as Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Mark Levin still attract millions of listeners. Conservative radio was also the launchpad for former Vice President Mike Pence and former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI think we will be writing the obituary of conservative radio,\u201d one former Trump campaign official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive concerns, told POLITICO. \u201cAnd I think the autopsy report will say, \u2018Murdered by Brendan Carr.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some Democrats acknowledge that talk radio is a politically enticing target given the precedent Carr is setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    \u201cI think we will be writing the obituary of conservative radio. And I think the autopsy report will say, \u2018Murdered by Brendan Carr.\u2019\u201d\u2014 Former Trump campaign official<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cDemocrats will remember,\u201d said Russell, the former Democratic official. \u201cIf the deal was, \u2018I will give up the legacy media that is losing viewers if I can take out your media that is the beating heart of your movement,\u2019 I\u2019ll take that deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That risk is also on the minds of some of the conservative movement\u2019s top radio personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    During a recent broadcast<\/a>, Glenn Beck told listeners he would stop interviewing political candidates on the air if Democrats enforce the equal time rule on radio. Hannity said in January<\/a> that he opposes further regulation of broadcast content, adding that the government should not interfere with where people choose to get their information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When asked about the radio scenario, Carr told POLITICO that \u201cthat\u2019s not a concern for me.\u201d Republicans, he said, should apply the law based \u201con our best judgment of where things stand,\u201d not let fear of eventual reprisals deter them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cToo many Republicans are falling into this trap of, when we have the gavel, we should take it and bury it in the sand and never use it out of fear that Democrats are going to weaponize it when they get it again,\u201d Carr said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The FCC chair’s warnings against partisan bias on broadcast TV talk shows could mean far fewer candidates on the air this year \u2014 especially Democrats. \u201cLet’s just apply the law in an even-handed, neutral way,\u201d FCC Chair Brendan Carr told POLITICO in late February. \u201cThat’s exactly what I’m doing.\u201d |… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47260"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47261,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47260\/revisions\/47261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}