Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's 7-Month Anti-Porn Road Trip Reality Show Is Still Nowhere To Be Found

It's been a few months since Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's wife Rachel Campos-Duffy randomly brought up PornHub while promoting the reality show the two former reality show cast members filmed with their nine kids over seven months. It was weird at the time, and it's still weird today, but there was always the possibility the line, "We live in a Pornhub world," would make more sense when the show premiered on YouTube in June. Except, it's now July, and "The Great American Road Trip" is nowhere to be found.

Has the show been canceled? Did corporate sponsors such as Boeing, Shell, Toyota, Royal Caribbean, United Airlines, and Lyft waste their money funding a show that will never see the light of day? Or has it simply been delayed to ensure the American people only get the best possible reality show the guy in charge of regulating both the airline and automotive industries could deliver? In search of answers, Jalopnik contacted both the White House and the Department of Transportation for more information on the future of "The Great American Road Trip." Sadly, at the time of writing, we're still waiting on the answers to our questions. If we ever get a real response, we'll be sure to update this post accordingly.

That said, while Jalopnik may be more concerned with what PornHub has to do with a road trip reality show than some others, we aren't the only outlet asking questions about what happened to "The Great American Road Trip." Politico didn't even give Duffy a week of wiggle room before it ran "Whatever happened to Sean Duffy's road trip series?" on July 1. Sadly, even with all its Washington-insider connections, Politico couldn't get a straight answer, either. It hasn't been officially canceled, but no one will say when it will air.

The good news is, Politico at least received a few responses when it tried to figure out whether "The Great American Road Trip" had been canceled or not:

Tori Barnes, head of theDelaware-incorporated nonprofit that paid for the cross-country series' production costs, in a statement to POLITICO on Tuesday indicated the show's rollout might not be imminent.

"We are excited that the Great American Road Trip Series will be released in the coming weeks and we look forward to Americans and visitors alike," she said, "being inspired to take a road trip of their own as we celebrate America's 250th birthday all year long."

Politico also obtained a comment from the DOT:

Transportation Department spokesperson Nate Sizemore in a Tuesday statement suggested that the series will be released shortly but didn't provide a date.

"We appreciate Politico's excitement counting down the days until the episodes drop. We're putting the finishing touches on the production and look forward to sharing it with the American people soon," he said.

DOT has not made Duffy available for an interview with POLITICO.

Same, Politico. Same. Although, I suspect the DOT probably has different reasons for not offering Jalopnik the opportunity to interview the Transportation Secretary. Still, it doesn't sound like we'll be sitting down to watch "The Great American Road Trip" anytime soon. Especially when you remember how many times this administration has promised something would happen in a couple of weeks, only for that thing to never happen. You never know, though. Maybe the show will still air at some point. If "Community" managed to get a sixth season on Yahoo after NBC canceled it, anything is possible.

Jalopnik wasn't the only outlet to notice just how poorly timed Duffy's road trip promotional tour appeared to be. The administration he traded his last remaining shred of dignity to stump for was the same administration that attacked Iran, a decision that, predictably, sent gas prices soaring. Telling families they needed to drive more was almost as out of touch as Duffy acting like a glorified golf cart is some big win for new car affordability.

Beyond the terrible timing, though, individuals and organizations who still believe ethics are important raised many more serious concerns. The claim that the DOT funded the show with private donations instead of taxpayer dollars, for example, may sound like a smart move in theory, but the DOT is part of the executive branch of the federal government. We don't want wealthy donors funding side projects for the federal government for the same reason it's illegal for private donors to fund federal employees' salaries. Even if you're okay with this administration accepting those dollars, ethics rules either apply equally, or they don't exist at all. 

Those potential ethical issues aren't hypothetical, either. As Politico wrote:

POLITICO, meanwhile, has reported that a would-be sponsor of the road trip balked at the ethical implications of seeming to buy access to Duffy, declining to participate, and that at least two ex-House staffers of Duffy's serve on the board of the nonprofit, Great American Road Trip Inc.

One of those board members is a spokesperson for the campaign of Michael Alfonso, Duffy's son-in-law, who's running for Duffy's old seat in northwest Wisconsin. Alfonso appeared in the series' trailer.

The other board member has lobbied for a national security company that late last year won a major Federal Aviation Administration contract.

Ethical concerns also prompted a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing in May, where Politico reports Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand suggested the DOT's ethics attorneys were wrong to clear the show for production, saying:

I don't like the fact that this 'Great American [Road Trip]' reality TV show took days and days of filming. I don't like the fact that it was paid for by companies that you have to oversee, companies that you work with, and in our jobs that would be pay for play. It would be 100 percent illegal. It would be inappropriate on every level and not tolerated.

Did ethical issues or concerns over poor timing delay "The Great American Road Trip" or get it canceled? Perhaps, but we'll have to see if the DOT responds to our email if we want to find out. (Maybe don't hold your breath.)