Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has found an embarrassment in Washington, and somehow it’s not in the mirror.
Buttigieg ripped Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over “The Great American Road Trip,” a five-part family travel series tied to America’s 250th birthday. Duffy appears in the project with his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a Fox & Friends Weekend co-host, and their children.
As The Hill reported, Buttigieg called the project “brutally out of touch” and argued that many families can’t afford road trips because gas prices have climbed.
Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (D) on Sunday went after the current secretary of the department, Sean Duffy, over a reality show he filmed.
“I love road trips. I love America. I actually took a taxpayer-funded road trip lasting about seven months. It was in Afghanistan. This is something very different,” Buttigieg told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
“This is not about patriotism. And it is an embarrassment to have him going around saying that a road trip — quote — ‘fits any budget’ at a time when more and more Americans cannot afford a road trip, because of the explosion in diesel prices and gas prices caused directly by the Iran war and by the Trump administration,” he added.
“To make road trips unaffordable and then go around celebrating your own road trip is exactly what people are so frustrated about, and part of why the Duffy road trip scandal has been such an embarrassment to the Trump administration is, it’s happening at the same moment that Trump is alienating voters by making it clear that he doesn’t care.”
Duffy’s team says production costs were paid by Great American Road Trip Inc., not taxpayers. Duffy also said no taxpayer dollars covered his family, and neither he nor his family received a salary or production royalties.
The series streams free on YouTube, making the outrage a little harder to sell as some taxpayer-funded Kardashian fever dream.
Corporate sponsorships still raise fair ethics questions, especially when Boeing and Toyota reportedly gave $1 million each and both companies fall under Department of Transportation oversight.
Admittedly, these are fair questions. However, of anybody in our current political climate, Buttigieg was the wrong casting choice to be the right messenger. His tenure at Transportation gave the country empty shelves, supply-chain excuses, rail trouble, airport headaches, and a department often more eager to lecture America about equity than keep basic systems moving.
He took parental leave in 2021 while supply chain problems were choking the country; he had every right to care for his family, but Americans also had every right to expect visible leadership during a national logistical mess.
East Palestine, Ohio, showed the same weakness in a harder light. After the Norfolk Southern derailment in February 2023, residents faced fear, toxic chemicals, government confusion, and a controlled burn that turned their town into a national symbol of official distance.
Buttigieg later admitted he should’ve gone sooner, but residents didn’t need polished explanations after the fact; they needed the transportation secretary to act like their town mattered before the political damage became obvious.
Buttigieg also became the secretary of transportation who mentioned racism being built into some highways and bridges. He didn’t invent the argument, and some historic infrastructure fights deserve honest review.
Still, working families sitting in traffic, dodging potholes, and paying repair bills weren’t begging Washington for sociology lectures; they wanted roads that didn’t chew up tires and airports that didn’t feel like cattle barns with charging stations.
South Bend, Ind., knew Buttigieg before Washington polished him for national television. As mayor, he carried the “Mayor Pothole” label for a reason: local frustration over street conditions followed him long before he became a national figure with better lighting and a cleaner résumé.
A small Midwestern city gave him a practical test in basic public service, and the nickname stuck because voters understand potholes better than press releases.
Duffy’s road trip may deserve scrutiny over sponsorships; government officials should avoid even the appearance of companies buying warm access through patriotic packaging. Still, Buttigieg’s scolding lands with all the moral force of somebody who backed the family minivan into the mailbox, then mocked the neighbor’s parking job.
Another thing to consider: our country only has one 250th birthday. If a member of the president’s cabinet takes part in a road trip and remains accessible in case there’s a situation that needs his attention, like maybe a supply-chain meltdown Buttigieg ignored, then why not do it? Duffy and Campos-Duffy have a full litter of beautiful children who are perfect for the road trip.
It’s almost like President Donald Trump knows a little about television!
America doesn’t need lectures from officials whose own records look like a garage floor after an oil change. Buttigieg can call Duffy’s road trip embarrassing if he likes, but he might also consider a quiet retirement, possibly somewhere near Rosie O’Donnell in Ireland, where the roads can be somebody else’s problem.
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