Sec. Sean Duffy, wife defend Great American Road Trip from Buttigieg attacks

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his wife, “Fox & Friends” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy, fired back on Friday after former Sec. Pete Buttigieg and his husband launched a barrage of attacks against the Duffys’ upcoming “Great American Road Trip” reality TV series.

The feud ignited Friday after the couple announced the new show on “Fox & Friends.” Chasten Glezman Buttigieg quickly took to X to bash the project, accusing the Duffys of taking a “multi-month, taxpayer-funded family road trip” while gas and grocery prices soar due to “Trump’s war of choice.”

He went on to call the couple “unfocused, unserious, and out of touch,” and aired old grievances about the Duffys’ past criticism of Pete Buttigieg working from his son’s ICU bedside.

FILE – Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is sworn in by Vice President JD Vance as Duffy’s wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, holds a Bible in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Pete Buttigieg joined in on the attack on X, adding, “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.”

Rachel Campos-Duffy replied to Chasten Buttigieg’s post, telling him to “stand down,” and clarifying the production was funded entirely by a nonprofit, The Great American Road Trip, Inc.

She said her family participated for free to celebrate America’s 250th birthday and noted the series was filmed in short one- and two-day stops over seven months.

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“You and I both know that my husband has done more in one year to transform the DOT and ATC than your husband did in over 4 years on the job,” Campos-Duffy said.

Sean Duffy waited until Saturday to deliver a blistering response, claiming the “radical, miserable left” hates the series because it is “too wholesome,” “too patriotic” and “too joyful.”

He confirmed career ethics and budget officials at the Department of Transportation fully reviewed and cleared his participation in accordance with federal rules, emphasized zero taxpayer dollars were used, and said filming took place strictly during short windows like weekends and his children’s spring break.

FILE – Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, attend a reception ahead of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 on April 15, 2022, in The Hague, Netherlands. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)

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He also defended his fast-paced record at the DOT, highlighting modernized air traffic control, the removal of illegal truck drivers and a 20% annual increase in hiring controllers compared to his predecessor.

Following the Duffys’ corrections, Chasten Buttigieg pivoted his line of attack, reposting multiple creators on X Saturday who took aim at the road trip’s corporate sponsors, which include DOT-regulated entities like Boeing, United Airlines, Toyota and Shell.

The reposted critics alleged a conflict of interest, claiming the companies funded an “extended vacation” for the secretary. The posts also attempted to tie the sponsorships to claims that Duffy has halted safety standards, pardoned airlines that violated consumer laws, and hasn’t fined a single airline in over a year.

FILE – Chasten Buttigieg and Pete Buttigieg attend the 23rd Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2022. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

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Despite the political mudslinging and moving goalposts from critics, the Duffys continue encouraging families to ignore the “haters” and explore America’s national parks and monuments ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday.

“Our message is really simple: to love America is to see America,” Sec. Duffy said. “So put the phone down, hit the open road, and rediscover what makes America great.”