May 11, 2026
That is the brand new trailer for the latest reality show — The Great American Road Trip.
Sounds wholesome — and like a fabulous way to see all the beautiful sights in our country, right? Well, there’s a lot of controversy around this particular reality show. Why?
Well, for one, it is a reality show brought to you by the United States government — the Transportation Department, to be exact.
Two, some are raising a red flag about possible conflicts of interest between the U.S. government and the “sponsors” of this reality show.
And three, the stars of this reality show are the transportation secretary himself — and his family.
I’m going to go through those things one at a time. But before I do, you should know this Great American Road Trip reality show will be five episodes. It was shot over the last seven months.
First, let’s talk about the U.S. government. There are a lot of questions about the timing of this show. It’s true lots of American families do take a road trip during the summer months, and of course this summer we are celebrating America’s 250th birthday. So this idea of a road trip may have made sense last year when they started filming. But now — with the war in Iran, gas prices at the highest levels we’ve seen in years, and Americans struggling to make ends meet, with many not even able to fill up their tanks to get to work — lots of folks are wondering if the Trump administration is just tone deaf and not realizing how much gas prices are impacting everyday Americans.
Second, let’s talk about who’s paying for this, because that’s where these allegations of conflicts of interest start to pop up. According to the Transportation Department, it’s not you, the taxpayer, paying for this reality show. A nonprofit called The Great American Road Trip is paying for it. And that nonprofit has received donations from big corporations like Boeing, Toyota, Shell, Royal Caribbean Group, and United Airlines. They are paying for production costs, including gas, car rentals, lodging, and activities.
The problem is all those companies are overseen and regulated by the Department of Transportation and Secretary Sean Duffy. Though in a lengthy post on his social media page, Duffy denied any conflict of interest, saying, “Career ethics and budget officials at the Department of Transportation reviewed and approved both my participation and individual travel in accordance with federal rules.” Duffy also said that neither he nor his family was paid to participate in the show and will not be receiving any production royalties from the show.
And lastly, let’s talk about Duffy’s participation in the lengthy filming of this show. First, it’s not really a surprise. For all of you younger folks, you may not remember — but I certainly do — Sean Duffy started his career as a cast member on the The Real World season The Real World: Boston in 1997. In fact, he met his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, in 1998 on another MTV reality show. They met on Road Rules: All Stars.
The issue many people are raising is how could Duffy handle his full-time and serious responsibilities as transportation secretary while also filming this show over seven months? It’s a fact that during that time there were several transportation-related emergencies that Duffy needed to handle, including a plane hitting a fire truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport, dealing with the outdated air traffic control infrastructure and the shortage of air traffic controllers, the near misses at several airports, and of course the shortage of TSA employees that backed up security lines at airports across the country during the government shutdown.
Duffy defended his participation in the show, saying, “The series was filmed in short, one- to two-day production windows — such as weekends and the kids’ spring break.” He went on to say, “Under my leadership, DOT has become the most responsive, productive, and transformational in its history.”
Duffy said that anyone who questions his show is a hater because his show is too wholesome, too patriotic, and too joyful. A government watchdog group has called it problematic and is demanding the inspector general investigate Duffy and his participation for potential violations of federal law.
Read the watchdog group complaint here.
Watch the trailer here.
