'Total disgrace': Gavin Newsom slams Sean Duffy over his new family reality show

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) sharply criticized Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's latest reality TV show called “The Great American Road Trip," questioning his commitment to his job. Speaking about the road trip-themed show, which is set to commemorate the U.S.’s 250th Independence Day, Newsom alleged that "multiple" aviation accidents happened under Duffy's watch, but instead of doing his job, he was busy filming his show. 

The five-part series set to release on YouTube follows Duffy and his wife, Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, and their nine children. It has landed him in controversy with critics calling it tone deaf and insensitive, given the state of the economy, gas prices, and the high cost-of-living.  “Sean Duffy is a total disgrace!” Newsom’s Press Office wrote on X on Saturday, sharing a post from New York Magazine, which shared the news of Duffy’s reality TV show that was approved by President Donald Trump and was filmed over the past seven months. "Multiple air accidents happened on his watch — and instead of doing his job, he’s been busy filming a reality TV show on the taxpayer’s dime," Newsom scathed. 

The comments come as between February and April, a partial government shutdown, which stemmed from blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security, led to hours of waiting at airports after unpaid TSA agents quit in droves. Furthermore, in April,  an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck, resulting in the death of two pilots at New York City’s LaGuardia airport. Most recently, Duffy was busy defending the administration's decision not to bail out low-budget carrier, Spirit Airlines, which shut down over rising jet fuel prices due to the Iran war. 

The show has further gathered flak for its theme as average gas prices in the U.S. have climbed to $4.50 per gallon, up by roughly 50% since the Iran war started, according to data from the AAA. “I love a good road trip, but this is brutally out of touch: 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,” Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote on X, slamming the show.  Many have also raised conflict-of-interest concerns as several of the show’s sponsors, like Boeing, Toyota, Shell, Royal Caribbean Group, and United Airlines, are companies that the Department of Transportation oversees and regulates.  

Despite the criticism, Duffy has defended the show, whose motto he claims is “To love America is to see America,” which he says in the show’s trailer. Taking to X, Duffy stated that the production costs were paid for by the non-profit organization of the show, "Great American Road Trip Inc.," and not by the taxpayers. "Zero taxpayer dollars were spent on my family,” Duffy said. He added that neither he nor his family received salaries for the show or production royalties. 

Transportation Department spokesperson Nathaniel Sizemore also defended the show as she told NBC News that politicians who are using gas prices to criticize the show "should sit this one out". She claimed that they were the "same people who waged a war on fossil fuels, pushed gas to over $5 a gallon, and forced American families into expensive electric vehicles,” in an email. She further added that Duffy had already done a lot to make cars affordable, and the taxpayer funds were only used for official government travel.