How Jimmy Kimmel’s James Talarico Interview Ratings Compare to Trump at RNC - Newsweek

Jimmy Kimmel's interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas has garnered more than 1 million views on YouTube, far more than a livestream of the second night of the Republicans' midterm convention in Dallas that ended with remarks from President Donald Trump.

Kimmel told viewers that his interview with Talarico on Thursday would be relegated to YouTube, saying Trump's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had threatened him, his show, ABC and affiliates over it. Kimmel said the decision was made out of concern the FCC would threaten ABC station licenses.

The interview, posted on YouTube on Thursday night with the title "Jimmy Kimmel's Interview with James Talarico That the FCC Doesn't Want You To See," has since garnered more than 1.4 million views.

A YouTube livestream of the second and final night of the GOP midterm convention, held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, on the Republican National Convention's official YouTube account has garnered just over 17,000 views. However, video from the convention and Trump's remarks will have garnered significantly more views elsewhere, particularly on television.

Fox News drew an average of 2.3 million viewers on the first night of the midterm convention on Wednesday, and it averaged 2.5 million during Trump's speech between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern time.

Newsweek has contacted ABC, the FCC, the White House and Talarico's campaign for comment via emails sent outside regular business hours.

Talarico also touted the interview in similar terms, writing on social media, "This is the interview Trump's FCC doesn't want you to see."

Polling shows the state representative narrowly leading his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in the Senate race, giving Democrats their best chance in years of winning a statewide race in reliably red Texas. The race could be crucial as Republicans fight to preserve their slim majority in the Senate, with Democrats needing to pick up four seats to win control of the chamber.

Kimmel began the interview by telling viewers that he and his show were "being targeted by the FCC for the crime of interviewing political candidates."

He added: "Even though for years, we and every other late-night talk show have welcomed numerous candidates, including Donald Trump. When he was running, he was on this show two times. But now I guess he doesn't like me anymore or the First Amendment.

"And so the FCC has threatened me or threatened my show, our network, even our local ABC stations because they want to make our editorial decisions for us, which of course we cannot accept.

"And so tonight, we are bypassing the public airwaves and hosting this interview on YouTube, even though our government would clearly prefer that we not do it at all."

After welcoming Talarico, Kimmel noted that it was not the first time he has had an interview "demoted" to YouTube. In February, Late Show host Stephen Colbert said CBS did not allow him to air an interview with Talarico over concerns about the FCC's "equal time" rules, prompting him to post it on the show's YouTube channel instead. CBS later denied barring Colbert from airing the interview.

"Why are they so scared of you?" Kimmel asked Talarico.

"Well, they're worried that we're going to win this race in Texas," Talarico said.

"We are the underdogs until the last vote is counted," he continued. "We're not just going up against the most corrupt politician in Texas. We're going up against this entire corrupt system."

Despite endorsing Paxton and seeking to boost his chances in Texas' U.S. Senate race, the president has repeatedly made digs about Paxton's fashion choices and the way he speaks.

He repeated those insults in Dallas during his keynote address on Wednesday and during his remarks on Thursday, with Paxton in the audience.

"You've got to elect Ken Paxton. You've got to do it," Trump said, before mentioning his prior comments about the attorney general.

"I said, 'I don't like the way Ken dresses.' ... Then I said, 'I don't really like the way Ken talks.' And then I said something that they really hated. 'Please, sir, don't say it, sir.' So I'm not going to say it, but I'll tell you what I was thinking about saying. I said, 'I don't really like the way he looks. I don't like it,'" the president said.

"But you know what I do like? He was the greatest attorney general in the history of Texas. He was the greatest attorney general in the history of our country," Trump continued.

He added, "So I don't know if he's going to ever speak to me again, but you know, I don't care as long as he wins."

Paxton has dismissed Trump's insults, saying in an interview with Fox News last week: "I've got this sports jacket on. I love it. And we're gonna just keep going.

"Texas is a relatively casual place in the summer, and it's hot. So we adjust, we wear cowboy boots, and we wear a blazer, and we're all good."

The president closed out the final night of the GOP's midterm convention by urging Republicans to "go out and vote" in November.

Trump organized the convention hoping to rally voters who turn out for him but not for other candidates. Republicans are facing a political reckoning in November, since the party in power typically loses seats during midterms and the president's approval ratings have slipped amid concerns about the economy and the war in Iran.

"You got to do me the biggest favor you've ever done," Trump told the crowd on Thursday. "You've got to do this for me. You've got to pretend I'm on the ticket."

The president also appealed to voters during his keynote address on Wednesday, promising $5,000 to each American adult if his party retains control of the House and Senate in November.

Kimmel, a frequent Trump critic, has repeatedly faced the president's calls for his firing.

ABC suspended the comedian in September 2025, and some of the network's affiliates said they would take him off the air over a comment he made following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

"We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Trump's FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, encouraged the comedian's removal from air. But following a public outcry, ABC lifted the suspension, and Kimmel returned with much stronger ratings than he had before. In December, ABC signed Kimmel to a one-year contract extension that is set to keep him on the air until May 2027.

In April, the president and Melania Trump called for ABC to fire Kimmel after a joke in which he described the first lady as having "the glow of an expectant widow." The remark, made during a routine on Kimmel's show, came two nights before a gunman stormed the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

Kimmel later said the joke was about the couple's 24-year age difference and "not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination."

Shortly afterward, Carr ordered an early review of eight licenses owned by ABC. ABC and its parent company sued the FCC in August, accusing the Trump administration of waging a "retaliatory campaign" against ABC because it disapproves of what the network broadcasts.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Shakeema Edwards.