James Talarico

This is so cool.

And then...

I think it was a few weeks later, they told our team that because of the FCC, because of their investigation into The View, after I went on that program, that their lawyers advised them not to air the interview with me.

And so they said, well, we could still do it on YouTube and we'll put it online.

And it was obviously a disappointment because being on YouTube,

The YouTube Late Show is not the same as being on the TV Late Show.

And so I remember like we did the show and I got to meet Steven and it was great.

But I went to bed a little disappointed that we weren't gonna be on the Late Show and that the most powerful politicians in the country were able to censor one of the major news networks.

And then the next morning I woke up and it was everywhere.

And suddenly you saw Americans across the political spectrum, across the country, speaking out against this kind of government censorship, speaking out in defense of the freedom of speech.

I was not anticipating that would happen, but I'm really glad it did because we need that bipartisan commitment to our most fundamental freedoms.

A threat to any of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights, whether you're a conservative or a progressive, a Democrat or a Republican or a libertarian or a socialist.

We all depend on the ability to speak, the ability to assemble.

And when those freedoms are threatened, especially when they're threatened by the government, we all have to loudly speak out against it.

Well, I'm a believer in the Second Amendment.

I don't pick and choose between the Bill of Rights.

The same reason I value the freedom of speech and the freedom of worship, the same reason I value the right to bear arms, because you have a fundamental right to protect yourself and to protect your family.

In Texas, there's a proud tradition of

passing along guns from one generation to the other, whether it's for self-defense, whether it's for sport, whether it's for hunting, it is a part of our culture and our heritage.

And I value that.