Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert is lambasting the Trump administration and the Federal Communications Commission after they conspired to axe a planned interview with U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico.

“I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on,” Colbert said of his interview with the state representative on Monday night. “I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to not talk about this, let’s talk about this.”

CBS reportedly killed the interview, citing concerns that it would trigger the Trump administration. Colbert pointedly called Trump a “toddler with too much screen time.”

Notably, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr issued guidance in January, signaling that the commission could target late-night talk show hosts or shows like The View by citing an equal time provision, which requires media programs to devote equal time to all candidates in a particular race.

The expanded applicability of the provision reverses its longstanding exemption on news programs and talk shows.

“Carr said he was thinking about dropping the exception for talk shows because he said that some of them were motivated by partisan purposes,” Colbert said Monday night. “Well, sir, you’re chairman of the FCC. So FCC you. Because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself.”

Chron contacted the FCC and CBS, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

In a written statement to Chron, Talarico described the decision as “the most dangerous kind of cancel culture,” the “kind that comes from the top.”

“I think Donald Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas. This is the party that ran against cancel culture. Now they’re trying to control what we watch, what we say and what we read,” Talarico added. “A threat to one of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights.”

The nearly 14-minute interview went on as planned but was exclusively aired on the show’s YouTube channel. Colbert opened the conversation by referencing this, saying it was not the “first time you’ve caused drama,” holding up a headline that read: “FCC opening probe into ‘The View’ after appearance by Talarico.”

“Do you mean to cause trouble?” Colbert jokingly asked, to which Talarico said, “I think Donald Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas.”

“They went after ‘The View’ because I went on there. They went after Jimmy Kimmel for telling a joke they didn’t like. They went after you for telling the truth about Paramount’s bribe to Donald Trump,” Talarico told Colbert. “Corporate media executives are selling out the First Amendment to curry favor with corrupt politicians, and a threat to any of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights.”

The two turned their attention to the contest, with Colbert frankly saying the “race should not be interesting,” referencing Trump’s 14 percent win in Texas, and asking Talarico why Texas being winnable is being considered a possibility by Democrats this election cycle.

“Across the state, there is a backlash growing to the extremism and the corruption in our politics,” Talarico said.

The state representative went on to discuss the importance of the separation of church and state and his background as a seminarian.

Colbert brought up reports spurred by a social media influencer alleging that Talarico referred to former U.S. Senate candidate Colin Allred as a “mediocre Black man,” which he denied.

“I did critique Colin Allred’s campaigning as mediocre, but I would never attack him on the basis of race,” Talarico told Colbert. “I know things get tense in a primary. I know stuff flies around on the internet. I understand that, but I’m trying to get us all to keep our eyes on the prize, which is remembering we’re on the same team.”

Talarico confirmed to Colbert that he had called Allred after everything went down to “reiterate what I said in my statement that I do respect him.”

“I don’t want to reveal anything in a private conversation, but I hope that he and I walked away with a better understanding of each other,” Talarico said.

Talarico was Colbert’s first guest to have their interview solely aired on YouTube.

This is not the first time the commission and network have applied pressure on Colbert and other late-night talk show hosts.

Colbert’s show’s run time is coming to an end after Paramount Global, the network’s parent company, announced last summer it would be canceling The Late Show amid criticism from Trump. Despite Paramount’s claims that it was a financial decision, the choice sparked significant backlash from Democrats and advocates concerned about press freedom.

Carr also pushed ABC and several television station operators to temporarily not air late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show in September over remarks he made regarding conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which spurred the ire of conservatives.

The president lauded Carr’s successful pressure campaign, proposing that NBC go after late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers next.