'You're not answering the question:' CNN host holds conservative's feet to fire on Colbert

CNN's Audie Cornish challenged a conservative political operative to address whether President Donald Trump's administration was imposing right-wing ideology on the media.

Panelists on "CNN This Morning" discussed late night-talk show host Stephen Colbert's feud with his own network CBS, which he claimed had barred him from airing an interview with Democratic Texas senate hopeful James Talarico because network lawyers had warned him it went against federal "equal time" rules, and conservative activist Terry Schilling downplayed the move.

"Well, look, I think that thisis a story much ado aboutnothing," said Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. "I think that what'shappening is James Talarico and Stephen Colbert are takingadvantage, getting as muchspotlight as they can on this.Colbert does not have a broadviewership. He's been fallingin the numbers."

Colbert led off Monday's show by announcing Talarico's absence and directing viewers to his YouTube page, where the scrapped interview was posted and has garnered more than 5 million views so far, and Schilling suggested that the TV host's influence was largely social media-driven as his broadcast ratings decline.

"So why fight it?" Cornish asked. "This is oneof my questions. When I think ofsomeone like [FCC chair] Brendan Carr, whoI'm going to play a clip foryou in a moment, the Republicanline is usually he doesn'tmatter, it's too small, butthen they weigh in, right? Sohere's Brendan Carr at the endof January, talking about how hethinks about these rules. "

Carr warned last month that the Federal Communications Commission would re-examine the long-standing exception to "equal time" rules that applied to "bona fide news," such as candidate interviews, but he questioned whether so-called "fake news" should enjoy the same protections – although talk radio won't face the same scrutiny.

"What's clear to everyone, they mean, thefolks who are in charge, clearlyare aiming towards state-run TV," argued Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, as Schilling scoffed. "If you are anti thisadministration, if you're antitheir policy, their agenda, theywant to silence and suffocateyour voices and the rule, thesame rules do not apply to Fox News. They do not apply tonetworks and coverage. Thatpraises the uplift the right-wing extreme agenda."

Cornish pointed out that Carr had argued during the controversy around ABC suspending late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that the media had been culturally captured by the left, and the host asked wither the administration was pushing to swap out left-leaning ideology for their own right-wing ideology.

"Well, look, to be fair," Schilling jumped in, "This Texas primary election isin less than a month, right?It's in just a couple of weeks.I think that this is a fairthing and, frankly, I don'tthink that Colbert really wantedto deal with having [Rep.] Jasmine Crockett on the show. We'llsee."

"You're not answering the questionabout is it a swap?" Cornish interrupted. "Is itbasically, are you now watchingan ideology in place that you'relike, look, the left, your timeis over. It is now the time tobalance it more and therefore Carr and others are going to bemore aggressive about insertingand forcing these conversationsabout point of view?"

Schilling disagreed, saying the administration hasn't done anything like Cornish had suggested.

"No, I think we have a longway to go before anyone shouldbe worried about the right wingtaking over America's mediaapparatus," Schilling insisted. "You've got the New York Times, you got the Washington Post, you got MSNBC, you know, Ithink you have a lot of newsoutlets that are very left-leaning. The right is moredecentralized. It's more blogsand podcasters."

"But we're atthe table with someone who'sbeen banned from the White House," Seawright interjected, gesturing toward an Associated Press correspondent, Michelle Price.

"Is that true?" Cornish asked.

"The Associated Press is banned from the White House [press pool]," she said.

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