Trump Administration Uses ‘Equal Time’ Rule to Reshape Late-Night TV

Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT How Trump Is Upending Who Can Be a Guest on Late-Night TV The F.C.C. is using a century-old broadcast rule to take aim at hosts like Stephen Colbert. The impact could reshape how talk shows handle politics. Listen to this article · 6:33 min Learn more Share full article 0 By John Koblin and Jim Rutenberg Feb. 19, 2026, 5:51 p.m. ET In October 2006, while seeking re-election as California’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on NBC. It seemed innocent enough: Mr. Schwarzenegger had been a guest on Mr. Leno’s show many times, and the two Hollywood stars enjoyed a warm relationship. But Mr. Schwarzenegger’s Democratic opponent protested the appearance to the Federal Communications Commission and demanded that NBC give him 15 minutes of airtime in return, citing a rule in a decades-old communications law. The “equal time” rule requires certain broadcast shows to provide equal airtime to candidates competing for the same office. Within days, the F.C.C., then under President George W. Bush, disagreed, issuing a ruling that effectively added late-night talk show interviews to an exemption that had been awarded to news programs. That exemption stuck for two decades, even as late-night television became far more political. Now, the Trump administration has effectively removed the exemption, with the newly aggressive F.C.C. making it clear last month that it would use the rule against late-night talk show hosts, who have been among the most relentless critics of President Trump. The shift could reshape the political landscape of late-night television, where most shows overwhelmingly book Democrats over Republicans. It has also raised questions about whether a rule created in 1927 to ensure that then-powerful radio networks would not have undue influence in American elections should be applied now, when there are so many avenues for political candidates to prom...