Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is launching a new show about his family’s road trip across America to encourage people to pack up their cars and hit the road.
The former Wisconsin Congressman’s show hasn’t yet aired but it’s already hit a few potholes along the way. Democrats painted the series as a free extended vacation for the Duffys and pointed out rising gas prices tied to the war in Iran.
Duffy said the show was part of President Donald Trump’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary this summer. He drew inspiration from his own childhood, when his family would drive from Wisconsin to Florida through the night to save money.
“Over the course of seven months, we just kind of found these moments where I might be able to do some work, I could take the kids with me, do a road trip,” Duffy said about the new show in a May 8 episode of Fox & Friends. “There’s so much to see in this beautiful country.”
A trailer of the upcoming show, posted on the official Department of Transportation YouTube page, shows Duffy with his wife, Fox News personality Rachel Campos-Duffy, and their nine children sightseeing across America. Footage shows them visiting the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, learning about the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and riding snowmobiles in Montana.
Pete Buttigieg, the former Transportation Secretary under the Biden administration, blasted Duffy’s show.
“I love a good road trip, but this is brutally out of touch,” he wrote on social media. “A Trump Cabinet member making a documentary about himself while regular families can’t afford road trips anymore, because Trump and his war put gas prices through the roof.”
Since the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran in late February, the daily average price per gallon for regular gasoline has increased by 52%.
Rep. Mark Pocan, who represents Madison and the surrounding area, said the country faces a shortage of air traffic controllers and has experienced several recent high-profile plane crashes, among other transportation-related concerns.
“But apparently a guy who’s known for doing a reality TV show would rather spend his time doing reality shows than dealing with the transportation needs of our country,” he said in a phone interview.
Campos-Duffy came to her husband’s defense, saying all production costs were paid for by The Great American Road Trip, Inc., a non-profit. The organization’s sponsors include many companies regulated by the department Duffy leads, including Boeing, United Airlines, Toyota and Royal Carribean Group.
“No one in my family – including my husband – were paid to do this,” Campos-Duffy wrote on social media. “We did it for FREE to celebrate America 250 & encourage other Americans to get off couches & screens and spend time together seeing our country.”
A U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the show was filmed in small one- or two-days stops over the course of seven months. She was not immediately able to say how many vacation days Duffy took for filming purposes.
Duffy said he carved out filming time on weekends and over his children’s spring breaks. Neither he nor his family received production royalties, he said. The five-part series will be free to watch on YouTube.
Duffy characterized his Democratic critics as miserable and unpatriotic.
“Don’t let the haters stop you from visiting our spectacular national parks, monuments and sights in honor of America’s 250th birthday!” he wrote on social media.
Duffy appeared on one season of MTV’s “The Real World” in 1997. He represented the 7th District from 2011 until his early retirement in 2019.
His son-in-law Michael Alfonso, is running for the same seat, which covers much of central and northern Wisconsin. Trump endorsed Alfonso earlier this year.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Transportation secretary promotes travel in new show about family road trip
Reporting by Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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